Never Have I Ever
by TheSoundofMusic
Summary: I've never been the type who thought I'd get married. Then again, I never thought that the person I'd fall in love with would be anything like Rio… (Neil's POV)-(Married Life)
1. Chapter 1

_**Never Have I Ever…shared a bed**_

* * *

When I wake up, I feel much warmer than I should.

The thick, wooly blanket that covers me is nothing like the thin black fabric that I've grown accustomed to, and with my black nightshirt the heat seems nearly unbearable. Grumbling, I kick off my pajama pants and roll over to go back to sleep when I hear a rustling sound next to me.

Before I can react, I feel a cool touch of skin against my leg, and when I open my eyes I find that I'm staring at Rio.

_Why the hell is she in my bed?_

Instantly I'm alert, wondering where I am and what's going on before I remember what's happened; I'm a married man now.

I probably should have remembered that sooner, but at five forty in the morning its hard to remember much of anything without really trying, especially a wedding that only happened yesterday.

As I look at the peaceful expression on her face, I slowly begin to recall everything that happened the night before and turn crimson at the thought.

It's hard not to turn even more red at the thought that it certainly won't be the last time something like that happens.

Trying to not think about it (because who needs that kind of excitement this early in the morning), I awkwardly shift on the mattress when she mumbles something in her sleep and rolls over. My face feels warm as she presses up against me, the cool skin of her legs on mine.

For her part, Rio doesn't seem to care that she now has to share a bed; she continues to sleep in blissful ignorance of the fact that I'm in bed next to her without anything but a pair of boxers on.

I probably should've remembered sooner that I'm not in bed alone.

Still, looking at her face, I can't help but smile as I reach over gently to brush a few strands of golden hair from cheek. As my fingers trail across her face, she stirs a bit in her sleep and I freeze before she just settles all the more into her mattress.

I'd never admit this, but I married a really cute girl; when I move to prop myself up with an elbow, the covers move with me and she shivers a bit before curling up even closer to me. As she snuggles into my nightshirt, I send a silent thank you to the Harvest Goddess before cautiously brushing my fingers across her lips.

Without thinking, my hand moves to her hair and idly I begin to play with it, all the while enjoying the way she's cuddled up against my chest.

At this point, I could care less that it's hot under the covers; I don't dare risk moving for fear that she'll wake up and question me. I've never been the type to coddle her and tell her how I feel, but when she's as vulnerable as she is right now I can't help but want to enjoy it.

I feel like if she knew just how much I love her she'd either be grossed out or would try to coax the words 'I love you' out of me even more than she already does.

Ever since I said that I loved her more than anyone else in the world she's been doing all sorts of things to try and get me to say something or act romantic again.

I mean, her efforts are cute, but still.

I'm not the mushy type.

I've gotten so lost in my thoughts that without realizing it my hand has moved from her hair to her side, and as my fingers dance across her thin camisole I can almost feel how soft her skin is.

As soon as my fingers reach her waist, I feel her cool skin where a gap between her shorts and top reveal her stomach, and as I trace a pattern there I blush a bit and smile as she stirs in her sleep.

Unfortunately, it seems like I'm not destined to enjoy this much longer; her alarm goes off with a clang, sending a wave of shock through me that makes me fall out of bed with a yelp. As I sit on the floor, rubbing my back where it aches from hitting the hardwood floor, I look up to see her sitting up in bed with a dazed and confused look on her face.

Sleep tinges the blue of her eyes before she stares at me confusedly and reaches over to shut off her alarm. As she rubs her eyes and blinks, she tilts her head and asks, "Neil? Why are you on the floor? And where are you pants?"

* * *

"Shut up. It's not like I'm waking up in my own house, so I thought 'where am I?'"

My words only earn me a smile from the pretty blond as she puts some food on the table. She's been making fun of me nonstop since she found out that I not only took off my pants but also fell out of bed when her alarm went off.

On top of that, the look on my face must have been incriminating because she's been glancing at me for the past hour like I was going to attack her or something.

As she sits down across from me and digs into her food, I stare at my fork and wish that we didn't need to be awake so early.

It would've been nice to just lie there together for a few more minutes…

"Neil?" she asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"What? Yeah."

She takes a few more bites before clearing her throat and saying, "Do you not like sharing a bed with me?"

I say nothing and watch as she continues to eat before leaning my head against my hand and smiling at her. This seems to catch her off guard; she stops eating and stares at me questioningly before I put my fork down and reach out to brush her cheek with my thumb again.

As she blushes at my touch, I mumble, "I didn't say that…but I was pretty surprised this morning when I woke up next to you."

"O-oh?"

"Yeah; I can't wait to do it again tomorrow. Be prepared."

I let go of her face and move to eat my breakfast as she asks, "Be prepared for what?"

I don't answer, but instead slide my gaze over to where her alarm clock sits on the bedside table.

My mornings have suddenly become a lot more interesting.

* * *

**Yayyy~ imagination~**

**No, but really. **

**I have Google to thank for the cover picture, and Natsume for the characters! I definitely don't own them...as much as I would like to XD **

**Now, about this story; this is going to be like a collection of things that happen to Neil after he's married, from his perspective. Now, while I don't believe Neil is a sheltered character, there are just some things that he CAN'T have done before, and part of that is things are different when you get married! Thus, I decided to call this story "Never Have I ever". Kind of like the game XD **

**All that being said, as this is a collection story if anyone has requests or ideas, I would be more than happy to listen and write!**

**That's all for now, then :) Thanks all for the reads and reviews, and I hope to see you on the next update :) **


	2. Chapter 2

_**Never Have I Ever…shared a bathroom**_

* * *

When I was single, getting up in the morning and getting ready for the day seemed a lot easier.

First off, I didn't have to deal with all the temptations that a married man has to. There was no cute girl hugging me in her sleep and forcing me to stay in bed for an extra five minutes, and there certainly was no urges to kiss said girl even if she was unconscious and couldn't kiss back.

Furthermore, I didn't have to share a bathroom with anyone.

As I grumble to myself and think these thoughts, Rio trudges out of the restroom and into the bathroom I sneak a peek out of the corner of my eye to take in a glimpse of the farmer.

She's as cute as ever with her hair sticking up all over the place and a sleepy look on her face. Her blue eyes are half closed, a sign that she's not fully awake yet. As she moves to her place next to mine and leans against the bathroom counter, I take in her sloppily tied bathrobe and smile a bit at how different she looks now compared to when she's fully awake.

There's something actually kind of adorable about her sleepiness, not that I'd ever admit it to her. When she begins her morning routine though, I look away and focus on brushing my teeth.

I will never, ever, understand how women can put so many lotions and creams and have such a meticulous way of doing certain things so early in the morning. For the most part, Rio doesn't care much about being super girly (I've seen her wearing guys' clothes around town before like she could care less that she's basically cross dressing) but when it comes to all her stuff in the bathroom she really becomes feminine.

I figured that there's no way her skin could be so smooth and clean looking without SOME sort of treatment, but all the same it's beyond me how she manages to remember what to do every morning.

Me, I can barely remember to brush my teeth sometimes.

* * *

I'm cleaning around the house when I hear a knock on the door. For a second I'm confused, until Rod pokes his head in and grins broadly at me.

"Hey, Neil," he greets me, as energetic as ever. "How's married life treating you?"

"Don't leave the door open, you'll let dust blow in," I gripe, and Rod closes the door behind him before all but skipping over to me. With admiration in his eyes, he exclaims, "Wow, you look just like my mom with that apron on and that duster in your hand…"

"Shut up," I threaten, waving the duster under his nose and causing him to sneeze. "It's Saturday so I told Rio to go hang out with some friends and leave the house to me. She's always working so hard, so I figured the least I could do was clean up the place a bit…"

I grumble under my breath as Rod just smiles at me knowingly.

"Well I can help," he offers, and without my consent walks over to Rio's closet.

"Hey what are you-"

"I'll just borrow one of her aprons like I always do and help you out!"

As he opens her closet door carefully, I watch him go to the drawer marked 'aprons' before he blushes and turns around holding one of Rio's entirely-too-strappy swimsuits in his hand.

"Um Neil, I think she put this in the wrong drawer…"

I march over to him and snatch the material out of his hands, my own face crimson as I throw the apron I'm wearing over his face and say, "Just go start cleaning, I'll get another apron!"

* * *

Side by side, the two of us stand in front of the bathroom door before Rod looks at me and asks, "Well? Are we going to clean in here too?"

"Of course we are," I snap, before sobering up a bit saying, "I just think I should warn you."

"Warn me about what?" Rod asks innocently, and in answer to his question I push open the door and watch as his eyes get wide taking in all of Rio's beauty products. They practically draw a line between her side of the bathroom counter and mine; all I've got is a bar of soap and some shaving cream. The mug that holds our toothbrushes is in the middle space between her side and mine, along with the toothpaste but for the most part it's very obvious what belongs to me and what belongs to her.

Rod takes a step into bathroom carefully, before turning around and coughing, "Are you sure it's okay for me to be in here cleaning this with you?"

"You help out with the whole house even though I've been telling you to get out the entire time, and NOW you bail on me?"

"Okay, okay! But still…well…damn, I had no idea girls needed so much to look good." For a second he seems to think about something before wondering aloud, "I hope Tina doesn't have as many products as this or I might actually think twice about proposing…"

Jostling him with my elbow, I head over to my side and studiously wipe down the counter before muttering, "I'm sure she has three times as much as Rio does. And I don't even want to think about how many Michelle has."

"Girls are so complicated…"

"Yeah."

"They're like aliens," Rod continues. "Does her face really look that different during the day than it does at night?"

He stares at me, waiting for an answer and I shrug before saying, "Rio doesn't really look that different to me. I think she just uses these to keep her skin soft or something. I don't know."

For some reason this gives Rod an idea; his eyes light up and without thinking he reaches out to grab the nearest bottle of cream. Before I can stop him, he squirts out a huge blob of light blue cream before slapping some on his face.

"ROD! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" I hiss, trying to tug the bottle out of his hand. Resisting me, Rod scowls and says, "Well I want to have soft skin too! Besides, it can't hurt…"

Ignoring him, I yank the bottle out of his hand only to see him reaching for another bottle. Leaning away from me, he reads off the back, "Feel fresh and wash away dirt and grime for a cleaner you! Become touchably irresistible!"

The last three words make me pause in my haste to snatch the bottle away, and Rod asks the same thing that I'm thinking, murmuring, "Become touchably irresistible…huh? Hey, do you think this means you become irresistible?"

"Don't say something so stupid. I don't think it's that simple," I point out, but Rod waves a hand at me and says, "No, no, no, wait, hear me out. What if this kind of cream is what makes girls have such soft skin and makes them smell good? That's why you like Rio, right?"

"I like her for more than that," I mumble, trying not to blush at the thought of how soft her skin is.

"Yeah, but…" Rod pauses for dramatic effect. "What if WE tried this? Then maybe we'd become…what was it…touchably irresistible too?"

As much as I hate to admit it, it's not an entirely bad idea. The thought of having Rio pounce on me instead of the other way around is tempting enough that I cautiously hold my hand out for Rod to squirt some of the bottle's contents into my hand.

Cautiously, I sniff at the lotion and when a flowery scent hits me I begin to have second thoughts when Rod puts a hand on my shoulder and looks at me with the most serious eyes I've ever seen from him.

"Neil," he tells me. "Faint heart never won fair lady."

"Unlike you, I'm married," I reply scathingly, but he ignores this and gives me an encouraging smile.

When I still hesitate, he tells me, "We can try it together, if you're nervous."

Giving him a look, I grumble, "Why are you acting like we're about to jump off a cliff together or something?"

He doesn't answer, and finally I sigh and say, "Okay, at the same time. On three?"

"On three," he reassures me.

"One…two…"

"What are you guys doing?"

When Rio's voice interrupts us, both Rod and I look up to see Rio standing in the doorway with Tina peeking out from behind her. Her hands on her hips, my wife stands glaring at us with an intimidating look on her face that instantly has me nervous.

As she and Tina look at us, waiting for an explanation, I sigh and glare at Rod who just grins back at me sheepishly.

Next time, I'm cleaning the bathroom by myself.

* * *

**As much as I hate to admit it, I use quite the number of beauty products in the morning and at night to keep my skin (mostly) acne-free and keep it smooth. It's just a part of life for me, and one time a friend of mine peeked into my bathroom and saw all my lotions and creams and stuff. He jokingly told me that he wanted to try some too to become beautiful like a girl and I smacked him for it but all the same I feel like he thought my stuff was like some magic potion.**

**It's not. XD It's just lotion and face wash XD **

**But anyways, it gives Neil and Rod something to think about :P Rio isn't going to be leaving her beauty products out in the open anymore...**

**Until the next update, thanks for the reviews and reads! Requests are welcome :) **


	3. Chapter 3

_**Never Have I Ever…cared much about clothes**_

* * *

I'd like to think that I have a fairly normal wardrobe for a guy; I've got my pants, I've got my shirts, I've got my boots, and I've got the one and only coat I will ever need in my entire life.

For me, this is more than enough-for Rio, it is not.

I'm not saying she doesn't look good in everything she owns (because really, she manages to pull off even the most hideous of outfits), but something I will never understand is her endless fascination for changing outfits for the simplest of things.

She's got an outfit for working, an outfit for gardening…she's even got a PANDA costume for goddess sake.

I have no idea why she has it, but it's there, taking up space in our shared closet.

Now, don't get me wrong.

I love my wife-really, I do.

There are still some things I can't deal with well though, and that would be her clothes suddenly appearing in places they shouldn't be.

Of course, that's not comforting to me at all right now, as I stand in front of our shared wardrobe holding up what appears to be…underwear?

Whatever it is, I hold it up by a lacy red strap and examine the small piece of clothing before blushing a bit and peering back down into the section where I keep a regiment of black shirts. Intruding in my space is a lacy red bra and matching piece of underwear.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem considering I've already seen Rio wearing much less, but somehow I get the feeling that I'm digging into her private stuff despite the fact that it was clearly in my drawer. Carefully holding the underwear at arms length, I move it towards Rio's side of the wardrobe.

Just as I'm about to drop it somewhere on her side, Allen bursts through the door yelling, "Rio! RIO!"

Startled, I turn around and flinch before demanding, "What are you doing here? Get out of my house, now!"

Slowing down, Allen stops his rampage before raising an eyebrow at me and saying, "I wasn't interrupting a hobby of yours, was I?"

"What are you talking about…" My voice trails off as I follow his gaze and look down to see that he's staring at the red underwear, still in my hand. Immediately, I blush furiously before waving my hands and sputtering, "Shut up! It's not what you think!"

"Whatever," Allen shrugs, "What you do with your free time is your business."

As I clench my hand into a fist and resist the urge to punch him, he looks around the house before asking, "Really, where is Rio?"

"Why do you need to know?" I ask, not wanting to tell him that she's spending the day in Snowland mining ice. Normally, I'd travel with her, but the cold is really not my thing-besides, she reminds me too much of a puppy in that big coat she wears when she goes there.

With a sigh, Allen walks over to the bed next to where I'm standing before sitting down on it. Tossing back his hair, he grumbles, "What kind of woman stands up a date with ME?"

Clenching my hands even more, I growl threateningly, "A date? You two had a date?"

Looking up at me, Allen blinks before laughing, "Oh please, don't be so jealous. It was a hairstyling date-I've told her time and time again that she really needs to get it fixed again. Her split ends are bad enough that I want to weep every time I see them."

"Oh…"

Slowly, I loosen my fist, and when the red underwear drops out Allen looks down at it on the ground before saying, "You know, you really shouldn't be digging through her underwear drawer. You two are already married, isn't it enough that you can do whatever you want to her every single night?"

Turning crimson, I lean down and snatch the underwear back up before muttering, "Seriously, that's not it. Her stuff keeps showing up on my side of the closet…what am I supposed to do about it? I was just going to put it back when you showed up…"

Thoughtfully, Allen raises an eyebrow before asking, "Doesn't that annoy you?"

"What?"

"I mean, if it was me," Allen points out, "I'd be irritated that she keeps putting her stuff in my space. And I'm way nicer than you are."

Part of me wants to ask him how he got that deluded about his warped personality, but at the same time I look down at the cloth in my hand before asking, "Well…what would you do, to make it stop?"

"Easy," Allen shrugs, "I'd put my stuff in her space, and hide all of her stuff. She'd get the message loud and clear that way, wouldn't she?"

As I nod, starting to hatch an idea, I notice a small smirk on Allen's face. When I glare over at him, it falters for a second before he gives me an encouraging look, and with a sigh I say, "Okay, well get out of my house then…"

* * *

"Neil?" Rio's voice calls from the bedroom. "Have you seen..."

Trying not to look up from the bass I'm restringing, I stare hard at the turning pegs and call back carefully, "Seen what?"

Rio hesitates, before calling out, "I'm just wondering…I might have left my red…"

Already, my cheeks are pink just waiting for her next word; to my surprise, she falls silent and I hear her rummaging around in the drawer before everything goes quiet in the bedroom.

In the end, put the red underwear at the bottom of my shirt drawer and ended up sticking one of my black shirts on the top of her drawer. While it wasn't half as extreme as what Allen wanted me to do, I still feel like it ought to make her think twice about keeping her stuff where it belongs-on her side.

I mean, if she can't find it, she'll come in here and ask me to look for it. When I find it on my side, she'll apologize and stop intruding on my space.

When I hear her feet padding towards the dining room where I'm sitting, I hide a smile and say smugly without looking up, "So Rio, what were you looking-"

I make the mistake of looking up at the end of my sentence; Rio stands in the doorway wearing nothing but one of my shirts. For some reason, this always manages to fluster me and catch me off guard…why do her legs have to be so damn good-looking?

She blushes at my blush, before one of her hand twists the bottom of the shirt, threatening to pull it up and reveal what's underneath the more she fidgets with it. Careful not to lose my composure, I gulp a bit before mumbling, "Wh-what were you looking for?"

"My red…my red underwear." Rio finally says, looking every bit as embarrassed as I feel. "I might've left it on your side without meaning to…"

I relax a bit at these words, thinking that she's about to ask me to help her find it when she turns even more red and looks away saying, "It's really important that I find it because...well I haven't done laundry yet so that's the only pair of underwear I have until I wash clothes tomorrow…"

This news nearly makes me explode; warmth floods through my entire body, the very thought that she's wearing nothing underneath the thin black of my shirt sending waves of desire through my body with every shaky breath I take.

Trying hard not to stare at her, I quickly avert my gaze to my bass and say, "You…you haven't done the laundry yet?"

"I'm sorry," she mumbles, twisting the bottom of the shirt even more and causing it to hike up unnecessarily, sending me into even more agony. "I've been really tired lately so I've gotten behind on washing things, and I've accidentally been putting things where they don't belong without meaning too."

The second she says that, I instantly feel like a jerk for assuming she just stuck things on my side for no reason.

Without second thought, I get up and walk over to where she stands. Pulling her into a hug, I press her tightly to me and murmur into her hair, "Hey, if you're tired you can always ask me to do some chores. Don't always take everything on yourself."

"But you're always so busy-"

"I'm not half as busy as you," I tell the top of her head, "and you still manage to do way more, keeping house and running the farm. Rely on me a bit, okay?"

She's quiet for a minute, before I feel her hands come up to clench at the back of my shirt tightly. Squeezing back, she says into my stomach, "Okay. I love you, Neil."

"I love you too," I say quietly, before one of my hands wanders from her back and down to her hips. She freezes in surprise before pulling back to look up at me grinning bashfully at her.

"Sorry," I mutter into her hair, taking in the enticing scent, "But I don't think I'm going to be helping you find that red underwear anytime soon."

* * *

**Ha HA! The red underwear is really not that important anymore, now is it Neil? :P**

**This was a request from Pixelsaber, and a very interesting one at that. (Thank you, Pixelsaber!) **

**I had to think about this carefully-I feel like Rio is the type of carelessly throw things in the closet when she's tired. Which...is probably always XD Add in the fact that she forgets it's not just her stuff in there anymore and bam! Neil gets a peek at all her nice things...and I mean ALL of them :p**

**I know that it was like that when I shared a room with my sisters I'd be halfway through class before looking over and realizing with some irritation that she was wearing my favorite shirt, before I'd look down and suddenly realize why my jeans were much tighter than I remembered them being XD**

**Anyways, I'm going to alternate with the stories that I post. Some of them will be funny, like the last one, and some will be kind of fluffy like this one. That way it's a variety of things that happen to Neil :) So leave a request if you like! Thank you all for the reviews and reads :) **

**Until the next update!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Never Have I Ever…rescued a princess_**

* * *

The minute Hina smiles up at me, I know any resistance to whatever she wants will be futile. Ever since Rio and I got married, Hina has made it a habit of stopping by our house at least once a week to have 'girl time' with Rio.

At first she would kind of ignore me and give me a few wary glances every now and then, but one day she wandered into the barn looking for Rio and ended up helping me feed treats to some chickens.

Ever since she's been attached to both me and my wife.

Right now, he little girl stands on our doorstep, her arms swinging back and forth playfully as she smiles up at me just waiting for me to say something.

For a second the two of us stare at each other, before Rio's voice calls out, "Neil? Who's at the…"

Her voice trails off as I drop my arm from blocking the door and the farmer stands next to me, blinking down at Hina.

It takes all of two seconds for Rio to register that Hina's standing there before a big smile comes over the blond's face and she crouches down to be eye-level with the little girl. I can't even begin to compete with Hina when it comes to making Rio smile; the ridiculousness of the thought makes me smile a bit myself.

"Hey pretty girl," Rio says with a smile as Hina giggles and smiles back. "What brings you to our house?"

"Toni and Niko and I wanted to know if you two would come play with us," Hina exclaims, her sweet girly voice already weakening my defenses. All the same, I'm prepared to try and say 'no thank you' when Rio turns to look up at me, a pleading look in her blue eyes.

One look is all it takes; the combined power of both girls is too much for me, and with a sigh I give up before saying, "I'm not busy. Rio?"

Hina giggles happily as Rio straightens up and grabs my hand, giving me an adoring look before tugging me out the door behind her to follow Hina. As the three of us walk off the farm together, I silently curse myself for being so weak to Rio's and Hina's attacks before allowing them to drag me along.

* * *

We're halfway across town before a familiar voice calls out to us.

"Rio! Neil!"

When I turn to look, I see Rod waving at us as he approaches our little group. Hina stops and blinks up at him innocently as Rod comes to a stop, panting for breath.

"Whatcha guys up to?" Rod asks cheerfully, before leaning down to smile at Hina. "Going somewhere?"

"We're going to play in the forest with Toni and Niko," Hina informs him with all the seriousness of a six-year-old. Rod seems to take this in stride before glancing up at me and grinning. Immediately, I glare at him as he turns back to Hina and says, "Mind if I tag along and play too?"

Even happier, Hina grabs his hand and begins tugging him towards the forest while Rio smiles after them before saying to me, "Let's go too then. It'll be fun!"

"Which part of being forced to play with little kids is fun?"

"You're not being forced!" Rio insists. "If you don't want to play too you could've just said no this morning."

As she continues to talk and pull me towards the forest, I just roll my eyes and wonder what I've gotten myself into. One minute I was at home with my wife, getting ready to enjoy a day off with her, and the next minute I found myself being dragged into yet another one of the many escapades that Rio always seems to come up with when she's with other people.

I knew I shouldn't have answered the door this morning.

* * *

"I want to be a princess!" Hina pouts at Toni, who sticks his tongue out at her before crossing his arms and complaining, "But that's no fun! I don't want to be a princess, why can't we be robots instead?"

As the kids all begin to squabble over what to play, Rod and Rio exchange looks before looking back at me. I'm sure the grumpy look on my face tells them I'm not about to help, so with a sigh Rod kneels down next to Toni and says, "Hey buddy, I've got an idea."

"Really? What is it?" Niko asks from where he stands next to Toni with a hand on his head.

"Why don't we COMBINE your ideas and play?" Rod suggests, and when the kids give him a confused look he explains, "We can play princess and robots!"

"How?" Toni wants to know. Folding his arms stubbornly, he stares at Rod as if waiting for the pet seller to come up with a good explanation.

"Weeeeelll…" Rod stretches out the word, and the instant he looks back at me I know he has no idea how to combine the ideas into something decent enough to make the kids believe it'll be worth playing.

With a sigh, I come to his rescue.

"Hina can be the princess captured by evil robots," I say, completely making this up as I go along. "And uh…someone has to save her."

"Like a prince?" Hina asks, suddenly very excited at the idea that she'll get to be rescued.

"Yeah, a prince," I mutter, but to my chagrin she grabs my hand and gives me an encouraging grin. Turning to Toni and Niko, the little girl says, "Let's play that!"

"Okay!"

As all the kids begin hashing out some sort of story, Rod stands up and smirks at me while Rio giggles. Glaring at both of them, I mouth at Rod "you owe me" before I find myself pulled towards the lower part of the forest.

Hina pushes me into place next to Toni and Niko before giving us a look that says 'stay'. Grabbing Rod's hand, she pushes him next to me before walking over to where Rio stands and grabbing her hand.

In a commanding voice, the little girl explains, "Toni is an evil robot minion and Rod is the evil robot queen."

"Wait, why am I a queen?" Rod asks with a frown, before Hina gives him a stern look and says, "Because in fairytales there's always an evil queen! Duh!"

Rod falls quiet at this explanation while Rio giggles at him and he sticks his tongue out at her. Continuing her orders, Hina says, "Rio and I are the princesses and we've been kidnapped by the evil robot queen, Rod!"

"So what do we do?" Niko asks, grabbing my hand and tugging on it as I look down at him.

Hina gives us a scrutinizing look before deciding, "Neil, you have to be the prince who rescues us. And Niko can be a knight who helps."

As we all mull over our given roles, Rio suddenly gets a look in her eyes that tells me she's up to no good. Kneeling down, she whispers something in Hina's ear before the two girls exchange nods and Rio walks over to Rod and slips him something that he immediately hides whatever it is in his vest.

Leaning close, she whispers something in his ear and he gets a grin on his face before nodding at her as they exchange smiles and Rio walks back to Hina's side.

"Come, Princess Hina," Rio says in an imperial tone. "It's such a lovely day for a walk, don't you think?"

"Yes, Princess Rio," Hina giggles. "It's pretty today!"

I realize that they've started playing when Rod lowers his eyebrows and cackles evilly (which coming from him, isn't really evil at all). Still cackling, he runs past me and Niko before grabbing Rio's arm.

"Mwhahaha! I've captured the fairest woman in the land, the Princess Rio!" Rod yells in triumph, before running towards the upper part of the forest pulling Rio after him.

"Oh no! Someone save me! Princess Hina, watch out!" Rio cries, reaching a hand out towards Hina with a worried look on her face.

Over his shoulder, Rod calls, "Robot Toni! Capture the beautiful and beloved Princess Hina! We will need her if we are to succeed in taking over Echo Kingdom!"

Toni, laughing every bit as villainously as Rod, grabs Hina and pulls her after Rod while the little girl giggles and waves at me and Niko.

"Help us Prince Neil!" Hina calls as the two disappear after Rod and Rio.

Slowly, I look down to see Niko staring up at me with wonder in his eyes. For a second we say nothing before Niko looks at me with a frightened expression and I sigh.

Leaning down, I say seriously, "Sir Niko, we have to go save the princesses!"

A ruddy blush of happiness makes its way across Niko's cheeks before the little boy salutes me and says, "Of course, your Highness Neil sir!"

Allowing him to take my hand, I walk with him towards the upper part of the forest. Warily, we stop every few feet before looking at each other and proceeding with caution. We make it halfway through the forest and near the mine before we look up to see Rio and Hina sitting on a grassy ledge. Rod and Toni have put a bunch of sticks around them like a cage of sorts but other than that the two girls look like they're pretending to be damsels in distress with ease.

Niko and I watch them and looking down, Rio sees us and says loudly, "Princess Hina! Look there! I see the prince and his knight coming to save us!"

"Don't worry, Princess Rio!" I call up, "We're coming to save you!"

We take a step forward before suddenly Rod jumps out of some nearby foliage with Toni following not too far behind.

"Ha HA HA HAA!" Rod crows. "You've fallen right into my trap! You'll never save the princesses!"

"Oh yeah?" Niko yells back, "That's what you think!"

Nodding at me, the little boy gives me a look and I step forward and square my shoulders.

"Surrender now and I promise not to hurt you," I say menacingly, glaring angrily enough that both Rod and Toni flinch. When I see that, I cough and try to soften my glare before giving Rod a valiant look.

Seeing my expression, Rod crouches over before reaching into his vest. "You think you're strong enough?" Rod declares. "Well I have much more! Gaze in horror at my awesome power!"

When he produces a bottle from out of his vest pocket, my eyes widen and he gives me a triumphant look before taking a small swig from the bottle. As birds begin to flock towards him and a few foxes approach him from out of the undergrowth, I narrow my eyes and look at him curiously.

The kids all look on in delight before I glance down at the label on the bottle before reading it and looking back up to see Rio staring down with a big grin.

"Wild Animal Friend," I mutter, "That stupid potion…"

As birds land on Rod's shoulders, he gives me the darkest look I've ever seen on his face before he announces, "I am the evil robot queen! You will never defeat me and my minions!"

Pointing at me, he shouts, "Fly! FLY MY PRETTIES!"

When the animals just stare at him in confusion, Toni decides to take charge and runs towards me with a yell, picking up a stick along the way. Quickly, I glance around only to find that there are no more branches nearby.

Just when I begin to panic, Hina's voice calls, "Prince Neil! Take this!"

I look up to see Rio toss a large branch in my direction, while Hina cheers as I catch it. As Toni takes a swing at me, I block it and then turn to Niko.

"I need your help, Sir Niko!" I yell, and the little boy nods at me before glancing around frantically and heading for the nearest stick. While I hold off Toni, Rod continues to cackle menacingly in the background.

I don't have to wait long before Niko returns to my side, and I step out of the way and let him fight with Toni before making a beeline for Rod. Giving the pet seller an intimidating look, I approach him and he tries to fend me off with a slap.

Easily dodging it, I grab his wrist and pull him in before we're eye to eye and I declare, "You'll NEVER take my princess from me…evil queen robot."

Turning, we both look to where Niko pretends to stab Toni, who falls to the ground dramatically and groans loudly.

"Oh great queen," Toni groans, "I have fallen!"

"Good job, Sir Niko," I say, giving the kid a thumbs up before turning back to Rod and pushing his shoulder lightly. Clutching at his chest, Rod stumbles back and forth before hacking and saying, "You have vanquished me, Prince! Noooooo!"

Ignoring his dramatics, I lightly push his body to the side with my foot before waving my arm for Niko to join me. Together, we climb up the rest of the way to where Hina and Rio are waiting for us with smiles on their faces. While Niko gets a pat on the head from Hina, I walk up to Rio and put a hand on my hip. She sits on the grass, beaming up at me with a twinkle in her eye.

"Princess," I say, dropping all acting and grabbing her hand to pull her to her feet. As she giggles and stands up, I loop an arm around her waist and pull her close before kissing her lightly on the forehead.

Together, we turn to look at where the kids are now jumping up down on Rod before turning to look at us.

"Let's play another game!" Hina calls.

While they wave us over, I tighten my grip on Rio's waist before calling back, "I'm sorry Princess Hina, but I'm taking this one with me!"

Ignoring the kids' calls and Rod's admiring whistle, I pull Rio into my arms in the infamous 'princess carry' and walk off with her towards the mountain area, taking us on the scenic route home. Holding onto my neck, she giggles before blushing a bit and murmuring, "Are you sure about this, Prince?"

"Hush up. I'm kidnapping you."

"Oh that's a twist. The prince is the one who kidnaps the princess," Rio laughs, and reaching up she kisses my cheek as I blush and look away with a frown, trying to hide how happy I am at her actions.

Leaning back, she gives me a mischievous grin before saying, "By the way…"

Questioningly, I look at her before she pulls herself up to my face again and brushes past my cheek to my ear.

"You can kidnap me any day," she whispers, sending a blush flooding across my face before I cough gruffly and continue to head towards home.

* * *

**Neil likes kids but he's not always the best with them I feel. Part of that is the gruff attitude that he has and another part of it is that he doesn't really understand how to interact with them. Adults can understand that we don't always mean what we say-kids, not so much. **

**That being said, Neil can be pretty harsh to people, even Rio and Rod. Imagine if he said that to the kids...I just feel like I wouldn't end well XD Of course, he's learning to talk nicer since he doesn't want to insult Rio so it's only natural to me that he'd start getting along better with the kids too. **

**That, and I couldn't resist the idea of him carrying Rio like a princess XD**

**Anyways, liznightangel I actually have a oneshot about Rio and Neil cooking already but I figured I would wait to post it and do this one first. The idea of in laws though is pure gold, and I'm going to start on that one right away! Thanks for the suggestions, look out for those! I will post them :) **

**Thanks ALL for the reads and reviews :) As always, they are encouraging to me and keep me wanting to write! Until the next update, thanks again!**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Never Have I Ever…been unreasonably jealous**_

* * *

As I sit at the judges' table, I nervously fiddle with my hands while all the while avoiding eye contact with the villagers. It's still a few minutes before the alpaca festival starts, but all the same I'm a nervous wreck; any second now Rio will march onto that stage along with her animal and be one of the contestants.

Before, this wouldn't have been so much of a problem. When we were just dating, occasionally I'd feel a bit guilty for not choosing her even if her animal was about tied with someone else's, but at the same time I didn't have to see her disappointed expression for too long.

On top of that, I had no idea how much time she really spent on the animals, so I could judge her that much more fairly compared to now-in particular, with this festival.

I've never seen anyone lavish as much care and love on a single alpaca as my wife.

She only bought Lucy from me a year ago, but even so I know how much she favorites the fluffy white animal; out of all her animals and pets, Lucy is the one she hugs and fawns over.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if one day she told me she loves that alpaca more than me!

While I fidget in my seat and hope desperately that everyone else who entered really DOES just have sucky alpacas, Rod approaches my table and gives me a knowing look.

"You know, you could've let someone else be the judge if you were that worried about being partial to your wife," he tells me, earning a glower from me.

With a cough, I dismiss the idea.

"Rod," I tell him, "I'm not going to waver in my judgment just because she's my wife. This is a matter of her alpaca, and not her. As long as I focus on just the animals themselves, it won't matter what my relationship is to Rio."

"Yeah, but even YOU would feel a bit bad if Rio lost," Rod points out, and at that I glare at him even harder before retorting, "Who would feel guilty? I'm just doing what's right, and judging fairly! I'd never feel guilty, not even a little!"

Rod opens his mouth to say more when Dunhill's voice interrupts, ringing over the clamor of the villagers as he announces that the festival is about to start. Giving me one last look, Rod just shakes his head before heading to his seat, while I take a deep breath and do my best to cool my head.

* * *

I'm already at home by the time she gets back from the festival grounds.

As Rio walks in, she hesitates at the door and looks at me with solemn eyes before shutting it behind her carefully. For a minute the two of us stare at each, before I nervously stand up from my chair and take a step towards her.

One hand already outstretched, I say, "Rio…"

Her name barely leaves my mouth before a pout I know all too well appears and she looks away from me, avoiding my gaze. With a sigh, I drop my hand before muttering, "Look, the Advanced Class is hard, alright? And I told you when we first started dating that I wasn't going to play favorites with you, no matter what."

"I know," she mutters, but the disappointment on her face is still clear to me. As she walks over to the vase and begins to pick at the flowers there, I follow her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, if your alpaca was just a bit better-"

"I'm fine, Neil!" she tells me, the fake cheeriness in her tone so sweet and sickly that it has me wanting to gag. She must be able to tell that I'm obviously irritated with all this though, because in a minute she sighs softly before saying much more seriously, "Really, Neil. I'm okay. I'm just…disappointed, I guess."

"Because I didn't choose you?"

"No, no!" she hurriedly assures me. "I guess…I'm just disappointed in myself, really. I'm sure I could give Lucy even more love. I'm just frustrated in myself because I feel like I really take care of my alpaca and love her, but it wasn't enough yet."

Quietly I blink at her, taking all this information in before she turns to me with a renewed look of determination on her face. Pumping a fist in the air, she tells me, "Don't you worry! I'll work really hard so that at the next animal festival, you'll have no choice but to pick me as the winner!"

"Well, it's good to know you're not upset about this," I say, smiling as I move forward to hug her. Just before I can put my arms around her though, she moves to the side and begins walking back towards the door with a pep in her stride.

"Uh, Rio?" I ask, confused. "Where are you going? It's getting kind of late…I thought you'd want to spend time at home tonight instead of running around the forest..."

As she blinks at me with confusion scrawled across her features, I resist the urge to tell her that what I really want is to just forget about the whole festival today and spend time with ME. Being as busy as we both are, it's rare that we ever have a full afternoon to spend together.

The desire to jump her right now is bad enough, but all the same I try to control myself from grabbing her wrist and pulling her to me. I'd much rather have her come to me without my forcing it…

While I wait for her to answer, she gives me a brilliant smile that catches me off guard before she explains, "I was going to go spend some time with Daisy. You know, that cow you gave me the first day we met?"

"That was Dunhill's present, not mine," I remind her, "And besides, what for? I thought you finished your chores for today?"

Still smiling, she says happily, "I want to get Daisy ready for the cow festival! It's the next one coming up, right?"

My mind goes blank in shock and I just stare as she continues, "I try to love all my animals equally, but since I can only pick one for the contests every year I try to focus on that one in particular and make sure they're ready to compete! Don't worry Neil! I promise I'll make Daisy into the best cow at the festival!"

As the door closes behind her and she leaves me in the house, all I can do is gape after her as I begin to wonder what just happened.

* * *

Rod sits across from me at Chez Clement's. It's the seventh time in two weeks that I've come to the restaurant and dragged him along with me.

Sure, I could always have dinner at home, but lately Rio's been so busy taking care of her chosen cow that she hasn't been showing up for dinner. As much as I hate to admit it, I don't cook half as good as she does.

Furthermore, eating alone has become a lot lonelier than I remembered.

While I sulk into my meal, Rod takes a sip out of his cup before putting it down and asking, "So why are you always inviting me out to dinner so much?"

When I give him a look, he grins a bit and says, "Not that I mind, because you're my best friend, but I think even Tina is getting jealous that we've been having dinner together nearly every day for the last few weeks. Is something wrong with Rio?"

I grunt in a non-committal way, earning me a knowing smirk before Rod asks, "Well what's going on? Tell me, tell me!"

"Will you shut up?" Grumpily, I take a bite of my food and focus on Michelle's magic tricks, even though I'm not really seeing any of them.

"But Neeeiiill," Rod whines, "I thought we were friends!"

Giving in, I turn to look at him and sigh, "She's just…well, she's impossible! Every single day, for hours and hours she spends time with that cow and can't even be bothered to say more than a hello to me in the mornings!"

As Rod blinks at my outburst, I continue savagely, "I understand that she's really determined to win the cow festival, but that's not until next month! And why the hell can't she spend that much time with me!?"

Breathing hard, I glare at Rod as he begins to chuckle, then laugh uncontrollably. He keeps laughing for a good five minutes before he finally calms down enough to stutter out between giggles, "You're jealous? Of a cow?"

"I'm not jealous!" I snap, hoping Rod won't notice the blush already spreading across my face. "I just want to see my wife every now and then!"

"You're jealous," Rod tells me, giving me a big grin before shrugging and saying, "It can't be helped, Neil. I'm pretty easy-going but even I would get jealous if Tina was spending a lot of time doing something else and barely had any time for me."

"I'm not jealous," I insist, taking a drink to try and cool my head. Ignoring what I just said, Rod waves a hand before saying, "What's important to remember is that she's doing this so she can win the festival! I mean, it's obvious she wants you to recognize her and be proud of her."

"I'm proud of her all the time...and I don't care if she wins. I know she takes care of her animals and does the best she can."

"That's not the point of what I'm trying to say…maybe she'll think that if she wins you'll tell her she's cute."

Under my breath I mumble, "She's really cute…why would I have to tell her that? Isn't it obvious?"

"NO!?" Rod exclaims, and with a sigh I shake my head irately before asking, "Look, what are you trying to say?" As if he's confirmed my problem, the pet seller exclaims, "Tell her how you feel about her spending all her time with the animals instead of with you. Just be honest."

"Whatever."

As Rod keeps talking, I block him out and start to shovel food down my mouth in the hopes of getting home sooner. If I'm going to do something about this problem, I might as well do it soon.

* * *

I find Rio in the East Barn, where she keeps all her cows and yaks. As I search for her bright blond hair, I hear her voice in the back of the barn, and when I push through all the yaks I see her sitting next to Daisy.

The cow is obviously happy, mooing up a storm as Rio coos to it and talks soothingly to the animal while petting it.

If I wasn't so irritated with the fact that this cow is taking away Rio from me, I'd actually say it's kind of cute.

When she realizes that I'm there, Rio looks up at me with big eyes.

"Neil?" she asks, "What are you doing here?"

Already I'm irritated; isn't it obvious? I only come out to her barns when I need to get her or when one of her animals is pregnant.

The annoyed look on my face must be obvious, because slowly she stands up and reaches out to touch my cheek hesitantly. Looking concerned, she asks, "Is everything okay?"

"No. It isn't." I say flatly, and without second thought I grab her wrist firmly and jerk her towards me. As she yelps in surprise, I lean down and pull her over my shoulder before standing up and turning on my heel sharply.

From where she hangs over my shoulder, Rio gasps, "Neil! What are you doing!?"

Ignoring her, I carry her out of the barn and leave the animals behind, heading straight for the house with my wife in tow. When we finally reach the farmhouse, I carry her past the dining room and all the way to the bed where I dump her roughly onto the mattress and stand over her with a menacing look on my face.

"Owww," she complains, "what was that for?"

Still ignoring her protests, I lean down to trap her between my arms and the wall. She blushes up at me, suddenly unsure of what to do as I kiss her for the first time in weeks. As I feel her go limp and stop protesting, I wind one arm around her back and pull her closer, ignoring the fact that she smells like the barn she just came from.

Her chest presses up against mine, so close that I can feel how fast her heart is beating and I smile against her mouth as I realize just how much I've missed this.

When she finally pulls back to gasp for air, I give her no time to resist as I easily slide the overalls from her shoulders, sending them to the ground in my hurry to get to her. Blushing furiously, Rio protests, "Neil, seriously, what is it?"

I stop my assault for a second, before looking at her fiercely and saying, "Do you honestly think I'm going to keep letting you ignore me?"

"I'm not-"

"You are," I interrupt, kissing her again before continuing, "and it's pissing me off that you're spending more time with that cow than you are with me. So stop complaining and just deal with the fact that I'm not letting you out of my sight for the rest of the night or for most of tomorrow either."

"What are you sayin…" her words get cut off as I grab her hips and pull myself closer to her again, practically crushing her against the bed. As she huffs for breath and stares up at me, she manages to gasp out, "You…are you really jealous?"

When I don't answer but blush instead, she grins a little before giggling and putting a hand up to ruffle my hair. Running her fingers through my spikes, she murmurs, "If you wanted to spend time with me that much you should've just said so…"

Turning crimson, I mutter, "Just be quiet. I won't stop, even if you beg me to."

At this she blushes and giggles before tugging at the bottom of my shirt and giving me an inviting grin. With a returning smirk, I lean in once more.

* * *

**I don't know why, but I feel like Neil would be the really forceful type...like, sweet but forceful all the same XD He's a man with a plan...gets what he wants and thinks about consequences later XD**

**He was kinda like that in my other story too, now that I think about it, so I guess it's okay for him to be like this here :)**

**Also, I can totally see him being the kind of person who gets jealous and kind of fumes about it before doing anything. Anyways, thanks all for the reads and reviews :) See you on the next update! Requests are always welcome!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Never Have I Ever…had a sister**_

* * *

As Rio hums to herself and tidies up around the house, I grow gloomier by the second. Any minute now the two of us will hear a knock on the door and I'll have to give up a whole week with Rio.

It was decided that her sister was to stay in our house, and since the two were going to be sharing our bed I didn't want to spend the night on the couch listening to them gossiping about me and Claire's husband, Gray.

I'll be returning to my old house for the entire duration of Claire's stay, although the idea of living back in my old home has me grumpier than usual.

The day that I heard Claire was coming to stay with us by herself for a week was the day I knew I'd be deprived of Rio until her sister went home.

While I don't have a problem with Claire, the idea that she'll be monopolizing Rio has me wishing this entire week was already over. After being married for a year I've already become far too attached to Rio; the thought that I won't be waking up next to her in the morning is kind of depressing and makes me feel lonely.

A knock at the door signals any time I'll have with my wife is about to come to an end, but before I can even give Rio a kiss or a hug Claire bursts through the door happily.

"Riiiiiiiiioooo!" Claire sings, dropping her bags on the way in as she jumps on my wife and snuggles her face into Rio's chest. Instantly I'm jealous, but I do my best not to show it as I cough and grab Claire's attention.

"Hey, Claire," I say awkwardly as my sister-in-law straightens up and lets go of Rio, heading straight for me and practically bowling me over. As she rubs my spikes fondly, I growl, "Hey, let go-"

"Awww how cuteeee," Claire giggles to Rio. "It's like having a pet cat!"

"Claire," Rio laughs and shakes her head as I struggle to get free. "He's not a cat, he's my husband. Let go of him, silly."

At Rio's request, Claire loosens her grip and I back off immediately, ready to make a quick escape as I head for the door where my own suitcase is packed. Just before I can make my escape though, Claire grabs the back of my coat and nearly chokes me.

"Sorry, Rio," Claire grins. "But I'll be borrowing him for today. I promise you'll have me all to yourself tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay…?" Rio tilts her head but doesn't question it much, and as she waves good-bye to me as I'm all but dragged out the door.

* * *

"So Leon would LOVE a new playmate…" Claire wags her eyebrows at me as we stand on the far side of town, watching the water pour from the lavish fountain that Rio built when she was working on the town.

I say nothing, but avoid her burning gaze and hope that all the questioning and suggestive looks will stop soon.

It was surprising that Claire dragged me out of the house and left Rio behind, but we'd barely walked off the farm before she let go of me and started asking about my love life with Rio.

At first it was just few normal questions about how much time we spend together, but after awhile Claire stopped holding back and just started asking about whether or not the two of us were planning on having a kid anytime soon.

As I say nothing, Claire elbows me roughly before saying, "Hey come on, say something! It's going to be boring if you won't even get all embarrassed, like you used to whenever I talked to you about my sister."

Turning on my heel, I call over my shoulder, "It was nice seeing you Claire, but you came to spend time with Rio didn't you? If you two need anything while you're here, you can find me around town or in my old house. Bye."

"Wait, Neil-"

Focusing on the ground, I full-out sprint away from Claire, knowing that if I allow myself to be caught I'll never hear the end of her questions and urgings for me and Rio to have a kid.

After awhile I no longer hear her footsteps behind me, but when I look up and see where I'm at I notice that I've managed to make it to the mine. Slowly, I lean against the nearest wall and sink down into a crouch, panting for breath.

Just as I start to think that I'm okay and have nothing to worry about, I hear Claire and Rio's voices echoing in the mine.

"Neil? Neil, you in here? Come on, Rio's gonna make dinner and she refuses to eat without you…"

"Claire, this is your fault!" Rio scolds, her voice bouncing off the walls of the mine as I crouch behind a few abandoned boxes in the hopes they won't come any closer.

Claire's voice is indignant as she complains, "My fault? I was just asking him questions and he ran off like a scared rabbit!"

"What were you asking about?"

I begin to turn bright red, not wanting to hear the conversation that I know is bound to happen. All the same, I'm trapped here in this hiding place so my options are limited at this point.

My face feels hot as Claire says, "When you two were gonna have a kid."

"C-claire!" Rio bursts out, sounding every bit as embarrassed as I feel. "Why would you ask him that?"

I can almost see Claire pouting as she complains, "You two have been married for nearly a year already…I want to see a niece or a nephew, I bet they'd be super cute since you and Neil look so good together! Haven't you two had enough time for you to be pregnant already?"

My mortification grows as Rio mumbles, "Y-yeah, but even you didn't have Leon until a few years after you were married…Neil and I have only really just started life together. And besides, sometimes we're both tired after a long day of work-"

"Hahaha, you're kidding me, right?" Claire laughs. "Man, the way Neil looks at you tells me that no matter HOW tired he is he'd be more than willing to enjoy the night hours with you."

"Claire-"

"No, Rio, seriously! I think you guys should try for a kid sometime soon. It's nice to expand your family." Claire tells Rio, as I shrink back into the darkness more and silently wish that this conversation would end.

While the thought of having a kid hasn't passed my mind, the actual idea of being a father is still a little scary to me.

That, and having the privacy of the house for just my wife and I is more than enticing to wait on having a kid.

I'm so focused on this thought that I nearly miss Claire's next words.

"I actually only came to see you because I had a plan to instigate you two being together," my sister-in-law admits. "I wanted to make Neil really lonely so that when I left he'd pounce on you right away. I mean, Gray is like that when I leave-"

"I did not need to know that," Rio says, the blush on her face practically visible as she sighs. "Claire, whatever Neil and I do is our business. I appreciate your…advice…but when we decide we're ready to be parents then we'll get ready for it! You didn't need to come all this way just for that…"

"Silly Rio," Claire laughs, "I'm just doing what a sister does best-giving advice, like you said. And is it so bad of me to play the doting older sister who wants a niece or nephew?"

"Yes," Rio says seriously, "it's embarrassing. No wonder Neil ran off, you know how embarrassed he gets-"

"Yeah, he's worse than you. But that's why I have so much fun when I visit you guys, you two are always so easy to tease! It's adorable!"

Their voices start to fade as they leave the mine, and slowly I relax before leaning against the wall and closing my eyes.

No matter how well my sister-in-law and I get along, I will never understand how Claire and Rio are related.

Somehow, being an only child became a lot more appealing after I got married.

* * *

**So FINALLY I finished one of liznightangel's requests :) Don't worry! The other one will be coming up as well :) **

**I also finished Coola13's request and will post it tommorow!**

**Claire to me is super bold, and that means that she likes teasing her little sister and Neil, especially since he blushes so easily! That, and she'd love to see a niece or nephew for her own kid to play with...XD**

**Thank you all for the reads and reviews, and I'll see you on the next update! Requests are always welcome!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Never Have I Ever…gone dress shopping**_

* * *

I'm sitting in Rio's orchard, enjoying the fall air and taking a nap with her oldest dog when I hear a couple of voices headed out way.

"Neil? Neil, where are you?"

In a few minutes Rio steps through the trees ,and when she sees me a smile wreaths her face. Slowly I get up, dusting off my pants as I ask, "Hey, you were looking for me?"

"Mmmmhhm."

I put an arm around her waist and pull her in for a kiss before I realize we're not alone. Looking up , I see Sanjay standing a few feet behind Rio, his gaze averted respectfully as he avoids looking at us. Coughing, I blush a bit and loosen my grip on Rio as I ask her, "What did you need?"

She bites her lip before glancing back at Sanjay and then looking at me again. Digging her toe into the ground, she admits, "I was planning on harvesting my rice today and I forgot that I have some chores I also needed done by today too…I was wondering if you wouldn't mind going into town and taking care of them for me."

As she pulls a list out of her pocket, Sanjay smiles at me welcomingly before saying in a mellow voice, "I would be pleased to assist you, Neil."

"Uh," I cough, "Thanks Sanjay, but you don't have to."

"It would be my pleasure!" Sanjay insists, his eyes wide and earnest as he takes a step forward and Rio smiles up at him. "Master Amir has made it clear that in his absence I should help Miss Rio in any way, and I would enjoy spending time with you."

It's a bit of an awkward thought considering we've only really hung out once, but when he gives me a gentle smile and a tilt of the head I can't help but smile back a bit.

Maybe it won't be so bad spending some time with him.

* * *

As we walk out of the general store with bags of curry powder and cocoa packs, I adjust my grip on the bag in my arms and turn my head back to look at Sanjay.

"What's next?" I want to know.

Consulting the list, Sanjay says, "We took care of the food shopping and said our greetings to Miss Tina, bought the blueprints from Rebecca…it says here that the last thing is a trip to the tailors."

"The tailors? What for?"

Sanjay shrugs, and I shake my head before hoisting the bag up again and grunting, "Alright whatever. Let's go and finish this last chore then. I might still have enough time to take that nap in the orchard I was planning on taking earlier."

We reach the tailors quickly, and as we walk in we look around at the nearly empty store before finding Yuri fixing up one of her mannequins.

"Yuri," I say, causing the shy girl to jump a bit before she turns around and looks at us. Clearing her throat, she turns around and fiddles with her fingers in silence.

Finally she says, "How….how can I help…you?"

Resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow at the way she talks, I cough and explain, "I'm here to pick up something for Rio?"

"Rio's…?" Yuri lapses into a thoughtful silence for a bit before turning around and mumbling Rio's name under her breath. Pawing through a few piles of clothes Yuri turns back around with a frown on her face and walks past Sanjay, still mumbling Rio's name.

As she walks behind the counter and looks over there, I exchange a look with Sanjay before Yuri comes back to where the two of us are standing. She holds two different dresses with a puzzled look on her face before explaining, "Rio…was supposed to choose one…which one?"

Sanjay's normally calm expression slips a bit as he looks at me expectantly. Blankly, I stare at the dresses.

What did she mean, 'which one'?

She can't mean I'M supposed to choose one…

As I continue to stare, Yuri holds both of the folded up dresses closer before giving me a questioning look.

I have no idea what I'm supposed to do; fashion is hardly something I'm into, and on top of that it isn't as if I know which one Rio wanted in the first place. I've half a mind to tell her I'll just take both, but by the looks of things that won't be an option.

While I stand there, unsure of what to do, the door chimes signaling another customer. The three of us all turn to look as Allen walks in with a displeased look on his face and some bagged clothing in his hands.

When he sees me, his eyebrows go up but he says nothing and turns to Yuri holding out the package in his arms.

"I've ripped one of my jackets and it needs mending as soon as possible," Allen tells Yuri, placing the clothes on the counter as he looks over at where the three of us are standing.

I can't resist giving him a grin as I say, "Look at you, worrying about your clothes like some girl."

The stylist just gives me a look before saying, "I didn't expect to see someone like you in here…Rio has a hard enough time dragging you to my salon. I can't imagine what she promised to wear to get you come in here. Let me guess…she wanted you to see her new swimsuit?"

Immediately I turn bright red, and stammer, "Th-that's ridiculous! I'm just here running some errands with Sanjay."

Allen glances over at where Sanjay smiles politely, before turning his gaze back on me. With a shrug, the stylist turns to look at Yuri before noticing the dresses in her hands.

"Oh, what are these? Are these for Rio?"

As Allen pulls at the dresses and admires them, Yuri nods and murmurs, "Only one….she put in an order for both…but only paid for one. Since they're the same price…Neil, which one?"

Silently I curse at myself, wishing I'd brought my wallet so I could just pay for both when Allen looks over at me and smirks.

"Need some help?" the stylist asks, grinning as he puts an elbow on my head and leans casually. Quickly I pull out from under him and snarl back, "No! I mean…I'll just choose one and she can get the other one later."

"Ah, but don't you want to get the one that will make her look the cutest?" Allen says, before turning back to look over the dresses again. Reaching out, he says, "Yuri, go put them on hangers so we can look at them properly."

Nodding, Yuri heads to the counter again and begins rummaging while Allen turns back to me and crosses his arms.

Still smiling, he says, "If _**I **_was the one choosing for Rio, I'd choose something elegant…like that fancy red skirt she wears sometimes to festivals. It's a good look on her."

"Well she's not yours to look at," I grumble, irritation starting to grow in the pit of my stomach as I continue to hold the bags in my arms.

Ignoring me, Allen turns to Sanjay and asks, "What would you like to see Rio in?"

"M-me?" Sanjay stammers, looking embarrassed. Quickly he looks at me, and with a sigh I just shake my head and say, "Just answer. You can't be any more vulgar than Allen is."

At this Sanjay blushes a bit before coughing and admitting, "I…think Miss Rio looks very nice in shorts…purple ones actually. The color looks very attractive on her…"

Allen nods a bit then shrugs, "I suppose that's fine but if you want to talk about attractive it would have to be an eastern style dress…the short skirts, the little slit up the side…"

"Can we stop talking about my wife?" I want to know, my annoyance nearly bursting through at this whole conversation. If it weren't for the bags I'm carrying right now, Allen would be dead for even bringing this up; even if he's just teasing about Rio I can't help but feel angry when he talks about her like that.

Seeing my irritation, Allen frowns as Yuri begins to walk over to us again. Holding up a hand, the stylist says, "Calm down Neil, we're just talking. Trust me, Rio's really not my type-if I was going to go for anyone it would be someone who appreciates fashion, like Yuri."

At this point, Yuri has reached us and she blushes a bit, the dazed look fading before she coughs and holds up the dresses.

"Which one?" she wants to know.

The second I look at them on the hangers, I know which one I want to see Rio in. Sanjay blushes a bit as he stares at the same dress I have my eyes on, and Allen gives a low whistle and puts an arm around me as he points and says, "That one, Yuri. That's definitely the one."

* * *

Sanjay bows and says his good-byes as I wave to him and carry everything inside the house. While I set things on the table, Rio calls from the bedroom, "Neil, is that you?"

"Who else would it be?" I call back, smiling at her as she comes out of the bedroom and sticks her tongue out at me playfully. While I carry the food towards the kitchen and begin putting things in the fridge, I hear her rummaging through the packages I left on the table.

Instantly a blush begins on my face as she calls, "Thank you for running those errands for me, it was a big help!"

"Oh, no problem!" I call back, feeling hot as I hear the tell-tale rustle of plastic that signals she's pulled the dress out of the bag.

There's silence from the dining room. For a second I wait to see if she'll say anything, but when she doesn't I turn on my heel and rush back to the table to see her holding up the dress with a blush on her face that's every bit as red as mine.

As her gaze travels over the maid outfit, she coughs and says, "So you picked this dress instead of the raincoat…I wasn't expecting you to be so eager for the Pumpkin festival. I was going to wear a costume for that…"

My blush becomes even more heated as I fidget and mutter, "Oh…so that's what it was for…"

Instantly she meets my gaze, a curious look in her eyes and she asks, "What else would it be for?"

I'm growing more and more heated by the second before I turn around and say, "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I'll go get your raincoat tomorrow-"

"Neil."

My breath gets cut off as I feel her breath on my neck and her arms wind around my shoulders. Her lips brush against my ear as she asks, "Did you want a preview of my costume?"

"No," I lie stubbornly, unwilling to tell her what I actually thought she ordered that costume for.

Curse Allen and his ability to give me weird thoughts…

My self-scolding is interrupted as Rio's arms slide down my chest and to my waist, before she kisses the back of my neck lightly. I freeze before she giggles, "I guess I'll go try it on then…see you in the bedroom."

The second she lets go, I whirl around and see her walking off towards the bedroom with a skip in her step. Quickly I take a deep breath to calm myself before following her.

I guess shopping for dresses isn't that hard after all…

* * *

**So when I was writing this, I looked up their preferred outfits and ironically enough the maid outfit was a liked one for all three of these bachelors. I figured either they were just really into playing dress up or (like most guys I happen to know) have somewhat dirty minds :P**

**That's just my take on things though, so I hope it was at least enjoyable to read and slightly amusing, if nothing else XD**

**Anyways, until the next update thank you for the reads and reviews! I love hearing back from you guys, and knowing what your reactions are to my weird twist on Neil's thoughts XD **


	8. Chapter 8

_**Never Have I Ever… understood nightmares**_

* * *

When I open my eyes, I'm staring at the low ceiling of my old house. It takes a second for the image to register in my mind, before I blink and sit up quickly.

I'm in my old bed, all by myself, surrounded by nothing other than my pillows and bed sheets.

As soon as I realize that, I look at my wall blankly, trying to figure out what's going on.

_Where's Rio? _

_Why am I in my house?_

_What's going on?_

Slowly, I throw my legs over the side of my mattress and get to my feet. I take a few careful steps before pausing and looking at my surroundings again.

There's no mistaking that I'm definitely in my house, and definitely by myself.

As I cross my arms and frown, trying to figure out what's going on, there's a loud knock on my door. I open it to find Rod standing on my doorstep, a big smile on his face while Allen stands behind him smirking.

"Someone's awfully lazy today," Rod teases, walking into my house without even waiting for me to give permission while Allen trails in after him. "It's already noon! Don't tell me you were asleep this whole time?"

"Uh…what…" I fumble for words, unsure of what's going on as both boys sit at my table and turn to look at me.

Giving me a skeptical look, Allen smirks, "Really, Neil, enjoying a festival day is nice but you should have given yourself more time to fix up before the wedding this afternoon."

_Wedding?_

The confused look on my face must say it all because Allen shrugs and Rod says with a pitying smile, "You forgot, didn't you? I'm sure you were busy moving in but still…"

Staring hard at him, I say, "Moving in? What…"

Allen gives me a look before saying, "I know you just got here a couple of days ago, but to shamelessly forget that Rio invited you so nicely to her wedding…"

"Wait, WHAT?"

Both Rod and Allen jump in surprise at my yell, before I slam my hands down on the table and ask, "What's going on?!"

"Rio's wedding is today…? You know, that girl who lives on the farm, the blond one?"

Anger flares in my stomach, before I glare. In a dead voice, I say, "What?"

Rod shivers a bit before laughing nervously. "You've got a scary look on your face, Neil. The town farmer is getting married today, remember?"

I don't bother answering; turning on my heel I march out the door, ignoring Allen and Rod's calls as I head outside and down the road towards the farm.

I'm going to get to the bottom of this, no matter what.

* * *

When I burst into the house, Rio and a few girls all jump in surprise. Rio wears a wedding dress, the cream-colored white shining while strands of blond hair fall over her shoulders in gentle waves. She looks exactly the same as she did when we got married.

Staring at me, all the girls complain and rush me, saying, "Neil, you're not supposed to be here, no men are allowed in the house while the bride is getting ready!"

Ignoring them, I push my way past their weak barricade and grab Rio's wrist. As she blinks at me in surprise, I demand, "Rio, what's going on here? Why are you doing this?"

Rather than answering me, Rio flinches in fear. When I see that, my grip loosens and my heart threatens to crumble.

How could my touch make her flinch like that?

Why is she looking at me as if she's never met me before in her entire life?

"Um…" she says quietly, tugging her hand free, "My wedding…it's today. I know you just moved into town just two days ago, but you really shouldn't act so familiar with me…it's kind of weird, Neil."

Pain seeps in my chest, but nonetheless I swallow and ask, "Seriously, Rio, this isn't funny. What the hell is going on?"

Giving me a look that makes me feel pathetic, Rio says, "I told you. I'm getting married."

Feeling more and more pathetic by the second, I drop to my knees and grab her hand, sharp pain shooting through my heart as I plead, "Rio please…if this is a joke it's not funny. It's me, Neil! Your husband? I'm not the best husband in the world, but I try every day to make you happy, even if I'm clumsy and don't always know what I'm doing…please don't say something like you're marrying someone else…"

Again, she takes her hand away from me before giving me another scared look.

"Neil," she says seriously, "I only met you two days ago. You're scaring me….please stop…"

My hands fall limply as I stare up at her, uncomprehending everything and feeling completely broken. I'm given no time to say anything in return when Iroha and Felicity grab me by the arms and pull me out of the house, while Michelle and Tina move forward to comfort Rio and assure her that everything's okay.

"Wait! WAIT!" I begin to struggle as Iroha and Felicity try to throw me out of the house. "Please, just let me talk to her! RIO! RIO!"

When I'm thrown out of the house easily, I watch the doors shut before looking down at my quivering hands.

I've never felt more alone in my entire life as I do right now, and when I remember the way Rio looked at me I shake my head in an attempt to forget it.

It was like she was talking to a stranger.

* * *

I'm sitting next to the aisle as Rod and Allen chat near me, talking happily while the crowd's low murmur surrounds us. The roadway for the bride and groom is right next to me, so reminiscent of my own wedding with Rio that I can't help but flinch when the wedding fanfare starts up.

Everyone stands immediately, and Rod nudges me as I weakly get to my feet and turn to look at the entrance to the festival grounds.

The second Rio walks in, I freeze up.

She's every bit as beautiful as I remember her being at our wedding; shy eyes avoid everyone's gaze, and a pink blush paints her cheeks, a smile threatening to make its way across her face.

Just looking at her sends a throbbing sensation through my chest and quickly I look over to see just who it is I'm going up against as a husband.

It's Klaus…the doctor.

The long nose…the floppy blue-black hair…the cold, scrutinizing look…

There's no mistaking it.

It's Klaus.

I must be gaping because Rod elbows me and when I look over he gives me a look that says 'be polite'. Ignoring him, I turn back to watch as the couple pass me, Rio turning her gaze to look demurely at the doctor as they reach the podium where Dunhill stands waiting for them.

She's marrying HIM?

That animal-hating, miserable old nag?

_**HOW COULD THIS KIND OF THING REALLY BE HAPPENING?**_

Unable to comprehend it, I begin to yell. Everyone turns to look at me in surprise, and as rage fills me I run down the aisle and grab Klaus by the front of his shirt.

"**GIVE ME BACK MY WIFE!"** I bellow, balling my hand into a fist while the doctor continues to give me a cold look, completely unafraid.

"She's not your wife," Klaus tells me snidely, his nasally voice even more irritating than it usually is. "She's going to be mine. She would never be with a guy who doesn't come into the clinic for his annual check-up."

"You bastard…I hate doctors…I hate the clinic…"

* * *

"Neil!" Rio calls. "Neil!"

I wake up covered in sweat, Rio bending over me with a concerned look on her face as her hand gently touches my cheek.

"Neil? Are you alright?" she wants to know, her eyes filled with worry as she uses the pillow to prop herself up on one of her elbows.

Relief washes over me, and without answering her question I roll over in bed and grab her. She squeaks in surprise as I hug her to my chest, squeezing roughly as she continues to ask what's wrong.

Glaring at the wall, I mutter, "Mine. This is mine."

"Neil…?"

Loosening my grip, I look down as Rio pulls back a bit and takes a deep breath before looking up at me with confusion written all over her face.

"Seriously, are you okay? It looked like you were having a nightmare…" she says softly. With a smile, I tilt her face upwards and lean down to kiss her gently.

"I'm fine," I tell her, to which she smiles back before snuggling into my chest, wrapping her arms around me as she does so.

Settling back down in bed comfortably, I silently swear to go to my annual doctor's check-up before pulling Rio into my arms and closing my eyes.

* * *

**So I know two things for sure: Klaus dislikes all animals (which is just plain sad, since animals are adorable!) and Neil likes all animals. **

**I get the feeling that the two of them don't get along very well because of that point, not to mention that Neil seems like the type to have an aversion to doctors. Not that I entirely blame him...Klaus slightly creeps me out sometimes. That, and he is one ball of sass for a doctor-you think he'd be a bit nicer XD**

**Anyways, I get the feeling that Neil is the type to skip out on a doctor's appointment so his nightmares are a bit...weird XD**

**Well, until the next update! Thanks as always for reviews and reads, and requests are always welcome! :) **


	9. Chapter 9

_**Never Have I Ever…enjoyed the Pumpkin Festival**_

* * *

Sweets are just not my thing. After a growing up with a dad who had a lack of taste buds and a mom who pretty much coated everything in sugar, even thinking of sweet things is somewhat repulsing.

Naturally, the Pumpkin Festival is quite possibly one of my least favorite festivals that Echo Village holds.

While I think this, I stand lazily at my stall on the plaza and look at the horizon, hoping that today I won't have to receive any treats at all.

Of course, this hope is pretty pointless; I hear Rio coming towards the plaza way before she actually comes into sight.

With Hina, Toni, and Niko on her heels, my wife skips up the hill towards the plaza with a basket swinging from her arm. As unfortunate as it is to admit this, I personally know the contents of the basket-with Rio, the Pumpkin Festival has never just been about kids, something that I learned when she first moved in five years ago.

It's literally a day where she gives dessert to EVERYONE in town, regardless of whether they like sweets or not.

I'm painfully reminded of that fact when she approaches my stall and smiles at me, tapping the bell as she says, "Hi, Neil!"

"Hey," I mutter, before leaning on the counter and pointing at the basket. "Did you need something, Rio?"

My question earns me an endearing pout before she puts her hands on her hips and scolds, "Just because you don't like sweets it doesn't mean you shouldn't accept my gifts…"

As she sets down some pudding on my counter, I resist the urge to cringe in disgust before I complain, "Seriously? You're really giving this to me, Rio?" I open my mouth to continue complaining when I look up and see her folded arms and angry look.

Instantly I back-pedal, holding a hand up as I mutter, "Look, look, I'm happy you care about me enough to give me…pudding, but I just-"

"No, Neil." Rio interrupts me, the frown still on her face as she holds a hand up in my face and the kids behind her all give me looks that tell me I'm in trouble. "I understand that you don't like sweets, but I thought that you'd appreciate the thought more…"

"Wait, Rio-"

I'm left floundering as Rio turns on her heel and stomps off, grabbing Hina's hand as she says, "Come on kids, let's go give out treats to everyone else."

"Rio-"

My hand remains outstretched after her as she walks away from the plaza, and to my chagrin I hear Rod's muffled laughter from the other side of the plaza. Looking over, I shoot him a glare which silences him.

Slowly, I bring a hand to my face and sigh deeply-if I don't apologize properly, I'll be spending the night on the couch.

* * *

"Neil, you're hopeless," Allen tells me as he, Rod, and I stand off to the side, staring over at the candy house that the villagers have assembled together. Rio stands with the kids, cutting off pieces of the house and giving them out on plates.

As we watch, she glances over at us and I meet her eyes for the first time since entering the festival grounds. Instantly she stiffens in surprise at having been caught looking my way and turns away quickly, her hair flipping over her shoulder as she does so.

Rod throws an arm around my shoulder and leans on me before giving a low whistle and laughing, "Allen's got that right. What are you two fighting about this time?"

"Fighting? We're not fighting…"

I fall quiet as Allen and Rod pause and look at me slowly and silently. Shaking Rod off, I frown and say, "Okay fine, but don't say it like that. You make it sound like all we do is fight and that it's always my fault."

Rod gives me another look but quickly glances down when I glare at him. With a sigh, I say, "So maybe I'm not the most tactful of people…but I don't mean half of what I say. Everyone in the village, ESPECIALLY Rio."

This time it's Allen who leans on my shoulder as he shrugs and smirks, "Honestly, Neil, you're doing it all wrong. If a woman gives you a present, you should just gratefully accept it despite not liking it. Treat women like their princesses, and you won't have to worry about petty fights."

Looking at him, I point out, "And that's why Michelle is just waiting for you to buy her the most expensive commitment ring money can buy."

This gets me another shrug from the stylist, before Rod sighs, "Just go make-up with her already, you're only fun to talk to when you're getting along with Rio."

I open my mouth to make a snide comment when Allen laughs low and points, saying, "Don't look now…but it looks like someone over there is having an awful lot of fun."

Quickly I glance over only to find myself watching as Rio leans down and smiles as Hina holds up a piece of candy on it and offers it to her. I watch as Rio takes a bite of the offered piece of food before out of the corner of my eye I see another figure heading towards her.

Slowly, I leave Allen and Rod behind and walk towards the candy house as I watch Soseki making his way to where Rio stands at the same time. He reaches them before I do, and as I approach I hear him laugh before he says, "Looks like you're being spoiled, Rio."

My wife looks up from where Hina is offering more sweets, before giving Soseki her usual smile and replying, "Hina offered, so it would be rude of me to decline when we're such good friends."

Holding out a piece of gingerbread, Soseki tilts his head and smiles at her before joking, "Here, want some of my sweets too?"

The sight of that sends my irritation into overdrive and quickly I step forward, putting an arm around Rio's waist possessively as I turn my eyes on Soseki. The reporter flinches a bit as I look at him as I say casually, "Hey, Rio, there you are. Come on, let's go home for today."

"Neil…" Rio blushes, as my hand slips from her waist to wind my fingers with hers. "What are you doing?"

"Let's go," I say, turning on my heel and pulling Rio after me, leaving Soseki shaking his head with a smile behind us while the kids all giggle and turn to clamor around him.

* * *

We're silent until we get home, and once we're inside I let go of her hand and walk a few steps towards the table before stopping in silence.

We stand there not saying anything before Rio coughs and I sigh. I glance over my shoulder at her and order, "Stay there. Don't move."

"Wait, Neil-"

Ignoring her, I head to the kitchen and grab the nearest piece of candy on the counter-a chocolate bar. Heading back to where Rio is still standing, I keep walking towards her and she quickly backs up but to no avail; within seconds I've backed her into the nearest wall, trapping her between the wooden frame and my body.

Looking down at her, I say nothing but instead bring the candy up to my mouth and bite down. The rich, sugary taste instantly has me wanting to throw up, but I fight the urge to cringe and instead lean in closer, bringing up a hand to trail her hair through my fingers as I do so.

She's blushing even more furiously as she stutters, "Neil seriously, if this is about earlier then I'm sorry…"

With the chocolate still between my teeth, I manage to say, "Bite."

"Wh-what?"

"Eat some."

She looks down with shy eyes before tilting her face up and taking a bite off the other end of the chocolate bar. Slowly I lean into her, bringing a hand to gently caress her cheek as I use my other hand to take the chocolate bar out from between our mouths.

Leaning in, I kiss her slowly and softly before pulling back and murmuring, "That was my gift to you for the Pumpkin Festival."

She hugs me before smiling into my chest and replying quietly, "I thought you didn't like the Pumpkin Festival, or sweets."

Putting a hand on her back, I pull her closer and mutter, "I don't. But I like you."

* * *

**I have to say, festivals where you give sweets to your beloved are hard on my heart in ANB XD I know that Neil doesn't like sweets but I also feel like he'd be insulted if he _didn't _receive something during Winter Harmony Day/ the Pumpkin Festival. But he still complains when you give him sweets and he always says, "Look, look, I'm not mad. Thanks." even though he TOTALLY looks mad that my character gave him a treat despite the fact that they're married. **

**Neil is way too contradictory XD But I love him nonetheless! Also, I ADORE Hina and the way she offers to hand feed your character during the Pumpkin Festival! Surely even Neil, with his tough exterior and his hate of sweets, would want to hand feed Rio...**

**Okay, enough of my delusions lol XD Thank you all so much for the reads and reviews, as always! They're all very inspiring, and I love to read your reviews because they make me smile :) As always, requests are welcome and see you on the next update!**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Never Have I Ever…seen a harvest sprite**_

* * *

"They're real you know," Rod insists as the two of us sit by the river, soaking out feet in the water in the hopes of cooling down on a hot summer day.

When he first dragged me along, I thought that it would be nice to just relax and hang out like old times, but the more he talked on and on about his theories on the Harvest Goddess and her 'minions' the more I remember how talkative he is.

As I sigh and drag my feet back and forth, Rod looks over at me before a pout comes across his face. I can practically see his spikes droop like a puppy's ears as he sulks, "You're not listening to me, are you?"

"They're not real," I reply, causing him to perk up again before he scolds me, "Seriously, why are you talking to me about this? I don't care."

"Well you should!" Rod insists, "Because they're real. I would know."

"Oh really? And why would you know?"

Rod looks back and forth furtively before leaning in close. As I flinch a bit and lean away, he whispers, "This area…Rio comes here a lot, right?"

Looking away from him, I glance at our surroundings; Rio IS over here a lot, always wielding a hammer and running around the eight stumps that form a line in front of some trees. Of course, she likes to take naps over here too.

Rod must see the doubt on my face before he says, "One time she was holding that hammer and I hid in the trees over there to see what she was doing. I thought she was using this area to make stone material or something, but she was talking to thin air and then suddenly she hit one of the stumps and it sounded like a note. I kind of got lost in the sounds but then suddenly she was like shining and this voice said something I didn't understand and the next thing I knew she was holding blueprints for something!"

I'm sure at this point, my jaw could be dislocated at how far it's dropped, but I don't care.

This? THIS is his proof that the harvest sprites exist?

My face must be incredulous because Rod pouts again and opens his mouth to say more-at this point though, I'm done soaking my feet and listening to his blathering on about goddess knows what.

Standing up quickly, I turn to leave when Rod calls out, "Wait! Neil! Promise me you'll meet me here tomorrow?"

_Don't look,_ I tell myself. _Don't look or you'll have no choice but to say yes._

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Shhhh! She's coming!" Rod hisses at me, practically slapping me in his attempt to shut me up and keep me quiet. Somehow, I made the mistake of looking back yesterday and within five minutes had somehow promised Rod that I'd meet him in the same spot again for some spying.

So far, all we've done is hide in the trees for the past half hour. I'm mostly irritated that I agreed to even spy on my wife in the first place, but when Rio comes happily skipping towards the river area I can't help but smile to myself as I watch how cute it is when she nearly trips and squeaks as she catches her footing.

When I look over at Rod, he's looking at me with slightly disgusted eyes and shaking his head.

"Man, if Rio knew how creepy you looked when you secretly watch her…"

"Shut up," I slap him lightly, causing him to whine in pain. "I'm not creepy. You are, for even coming up with this idea."

Holding his face, Rod pouts again and looks back at where Rio is now rummaging in her sack before he mutters, "Okay, whatever, just watch her okay?"

He doesn't have to ask me twice; my eyes find Rio instantly. The color of her hair, the blue of her eyes, the way her lips move when she talks….talks to thin air?

Suddenly I focus, much more intent on what's going on as I realize Rod is right-she IS talking to thin air. There's no one there in the grove with her, but as she stands up and throws a hammer over her shoulder she shakes her head and says with a loud laugh, "You're so silly, Aaron!"

Together, Rod and I watch as Rio hits the nearest stump. Just like he said, music begins to fill the river area and I stare harder as Rio makes a face of concentration and then runs over to another stump, hitting it quickly.

Either Rod and I are both delusional, or Rio really is making music with stumps and talking to people that don't exist.

It's strange, and weird, I don't really understand it but…

Rod suddenly jumps on me, trying to get a better look when suddenly we come crashing out of the undergrowth. As we yell and tumble onto the grass the music suddenly stops. I'm trying to untangle my legs from Rod's when I hear Rio's voice say, "Neil?" and a pair of brown boots come into my vision.

Cursing under my breath, I throw Rod off of me and scramble to my feet before asking Rio, "What were you doing? Who were you talking to?"

On the ground, Rod wriggles around trying to get out from under my feet as he asks eagerly, "Was it a harvest sprite? They're real aren't they? Tell him, Rio, he doesn't believe me!"

My wife blinks at the both of us, shock completely written all over her face before she falls quiet. For a second I think she's going to cry when instead she bursts out laughing. As Rod and I watch, she clutches her sides and laughs even more before pointing at me and asking incredulously, "You don' t believe that harvest sprites are real? Of course they are Neil!"

Instantly I frown, confused so much that I can barely even manage a "Huh?" as Rio helps Rod to his feet and the two of them look at me and shake their heads.

Shaking a finger at me, Rio scolds, "Don't you believe in the Harvest Goddess, Neil?"

"Huh?"

For some reason, that seems to be the only sound that I can make, and Rio just shakes her head before saying, "You know, the Harvest Goddess? She has sprites, don't you know that?"

Shaking my head, I growl, "Come on, it's just a story, they don't REALLY exist."

At this, Rod grabs his chest and gasps before saying, "Neil! Don't say such blasphemous things!" while Rio just shakes her head at me with a smile on her face.

Leaning forward she puts a hand on her hip and says, "Really Neil, the sprites don't like it when people don't believe in them. They are real, Rod is right!"

I shake my head, refusing to let Rod have the satisfaction of being right about something so ridiculous. While I believe in them, the idea of them being as real as the people in town is hard to think about…

My silence earns me reproachful looks from both Rod and Rio.

Exchanging a look with Rod, she comes to one side and grabs my hand. Giving me an encouraging smile, she squeezes my hand and tells me, "Honestly Neil, if you want proof that they're real all you have to do is ask Hana and Dunhill…they can tell you. Come on, let's go!"

"Dunhill will tell us everything, and I mean EVERYTHING!" Rod exclaims.

As Rio drags me after her and Rod skips along happily behind, insisting he was right the entire time, I frown at the sky.

Somehow, I feel like this is my divine punishment for doubting the sprites' existence in the first place.

Next time I'll just accept the fact that some things can't be seen.

* * *

**One thing that I don't understand entirely is how the whole harvest-sprite-harvest-goddess thing works in town. I mean, the other townspeople barely seem to mention them. In fact, I don't ever recall them being mentioned in the actual gameplay! It could be my faulty memory (which seems to get worse every year) but either way I think it's strange that no one else seems to say anything about it or mention it besides your character. **

**I'm sure the townspeople believe in the harvest sprites and stuff though. Anyways, for me I always wondered how Rio doesn't come off as kind of crazy; there's always someone walking around the river area, so surely someone's seen Rio hitting stumps and talking to what appears to be thin air. Considering that everyone except Rio can't see the sprites or the Goddess, I just feel like the whole thing is one of those 'seeing isn't believing' things XD**

**But that's just my take on it! **

**Anyways, thanks for all the reads and reviews as always :) Requests are still welcome, and I'll update again either tomorrow or the day after so be on the lookout for it! :) Until next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Never Have I Ever…looked good in pink**_

* * *

Everywhere I look the color seems to overwhelm me.

It crawls through the cracks of the nearby house and into the stones that pave a path around the sheltered area, sickening and far too sweet for my taste.

Pink.

Everywhere I look, it's all PINK.

As petals fall everywhere and the wind blows through the trees, I grumpily shove my hands in my pockets and shift on my feet awkwardly. After spending hours traveling here, I'm pretty disappointed with the way things have turned out.

I was hoping our first trip away from town would be somewhere a little more enjoyable…like the beach or something.

At least there they have turtles.

As I think about this, Rio comes running up to me from where she was discussing travel plans with Charles. Grabbing my hands, she smiles up at me happily and exclaims, "Isn't this place beautiful? It's really pretty here, with the petals, and the wind…it's so peaceful it's almost hard to believe it's real!"

I just grunt in reply as Rio continues to gush, "And to think Charles was friends with such a sophisticated and well off woman! Miss Sakura is so nice to let him bring guests here to her home and experience what it's like to live in the East."

While I grumble under my breath and check my watch, wondering how long this trip will last before Rio grabs my hand roughly, causing me to inhale sharply with surprise. Following her gaze, I look over to see a woman with straight black hair approaching the two of us.

As she reaches us, she bows lightly before straightening up and asking cheerfully, "Hello, I'm Sakura. You are?"

I try not to cringe as Rio digs her nails into my hand with her excitement and replies, "Hello! I'm Rio, and this is my husband, Neil. We're friends of Charles…I'm really loving your home, it's beautiful!"

Sakura's eyes light up at Rio's words, and offering a hand to my wife the woman asks, "I'm very happy to hear that. Would you like to try on some traditional eastern dresses, or a kimono?"

I look over to see Rio practically quivering with excitement as she says, "Really?!"

Sakura just laughs before taking Rio's hand and leading her away from me towards the big house at the far edge of the property. Turning back to me, she says, "You come too; we have plenty of yukatas for you to try on as well."

Quickly I try to reject the offer when Rio looks over her shoulder at me and we meet eyes. Instantly, my gaze drops to the ground and I mutter, "Oh alright. But just one."

* * *

When I'm shoved back to the outside garden area again, I look down at the outfit I've been put into and cringe.

It looks like the whole place just threw up all over me; all the outfits given for me to try on were various shades of pink. In the end, all I could do was choose the darkest shade and hope to pass it off as a sunset red color.

I start to take off the robe in the hopes that I can leave it on the nearby bench and go put my normal clothes on when I hear Rio say, "Neil?"

Quickly I turn around protesting, "Rio, these clothes-"

The words die on the tip of my tongue as she blinks at me and asks, "What about them?"

Rio stares at me, waiting for my answer as she pats down the kimono she's been put into. It's elegant, and beautiful in a way that I wasn't expecting. Normally fancy places like this and overly ornate clothing don't interest me, but there's something that's enticing about the way Rio looks now.

It's almost as if she's stepped out of a painting, and even the way the kimono falls around her feet makes her seem more graceful than normal. Taking careful, slow steps towards me, Rio reaches hand out for me to take it as she takes in my appearance.

When I take her hand gently, helping her step over the stones without tripping, I manage to say, "You look…good. You look really pretty."

"Don't I always look pretty?" Rio teases, her loosely braided hair brushing against my arm as she comes to stand right next to me.

"Well yes but…this is a different kind of pretty."

My words just make her giggle a bit before she brushes a hand against my outfit and I'm reminded of the hideous color. As she runs her hand over the material, she smirks before telling me, "I have to say, I never thought there would be a day where I would see you in anything besides black and red…"

"Yeah, I never thought I'd have to do something like this either…"

I fall quiet as she pats my cheek with her hand and smiles up at me, running her thumb across my skin as she giggles, "Don't make such a face, I like it much better when you're smiling at me or blushing. Pink really isn't that bad of a color on you…especially when it's on your cheeks!"

Gruffly I cough and mutter, "You're making fun of me now," while Rio just smiles up at me again and then wraps her arms around my neck. Sighing, I give in and put my arms around her waist before leaning down slightly to kiss her.

Pulling back, I turn away from her and say, "Since we're here, we might as well explore a bit, don't you think?"

She nods, and together the two of us walk towards the small bridge in the middle of the garden. For awhile I attempt to dodge all the falling petals, but as they continue to smack into my face and stick to my clothes I give up and just hope that our trip will be over soon enough and I can get out of this pink horror that I've been stuck in.

When we reach the bridge, Rio lets go of my hand and leans over the rail with an excited look on her face. Taking a deep breath, she murmurs, "It really is beautiful here…"

"It's too pink," I grumble back.

That earns me a frown, and she scolds lightly, "I think it's kind of nice…don't you?"

"Look, Rio," I tell her, "Formal places like this just aren't my thing."

Turning around to face me, she leans even more on the railing before her eyebrows knit together in confusion and she asks, "So why'd you come along then? Should we have gone to the beach instead?"

I blush a bit before coughing, "I came along because you asked me to…and I'd go anywhere with you. Even if I don't like the place, as long as you're happy and enjoying yourself I don't care."

The blush continues to heat my face as Rio gives me a smile, knowing how reluctant I must have been to say such a corny thing-even if I meant every word.

She laughs a bit before reaching out to ruffle up my spikes, saying, "Really Neil, you're such a big softie…"

"Shut up," I tell her, frowning in annoyance as she teases me. Shaking my head, I chastise, "Geez, you're such a kid sometimes. Look, you've even got a petal stuck in your hair."

Blinking, she reaches up to take it out only to completely miss it as she pats the top of her head and says, "Where is it?"

Rolling my eyes, I reach over and take it out, murmuring, "…Here. It's here. Stop that now."

To my pleasure she blushes at that, looking away before muttering back, "Don't treat me like a kid."

"Then don't act like one."

"You're worse than me!"

As we argue, we turn towards the house and slowly start to make our way back to where Sakura is standing. Reaching over, I twine my fingers with hers before hesitating and asking, "So…do I look good in pink then?"

Giving me a look, Rio eyes me before smirking and shrugging, saying, "I guess…but you look good no matter what you wear."

"Hey, that's my line."

Laughing, the two of us head towards the house to change, when I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the pond.

Mentally I make a promise to never wear pink again; I'll leave the color to Rio.

* * *

**I really, really REALLY wanted to do one about them going on a trip together so I decided to go with the stuff that happens in the Land of the East. To me, the beach would have been the obvious choice and since everyone seems to choose that one first I wanted to be different XD**

**To me, the Land of the East is more like someone's garden; you've got the house thing in the right corner with Sakura standing next to it, the carefully cultivated scenic trees and pond with matching bridge theme, the bamboo fountain, and to make it even more garden-like there are high stone walls around the whole thing. It's seriously screams "this is someone's garden" to me. **

**That being said, I also figured Sakura (the person who gives you free stuff) would most likely be the owner of this garden and probably a friend of Charles since she allows him to bring people there as a trip. I wanted to be a bit creative with this one so I hope I'm not too far off the mark XD**

**Either way, thanks for reading and reviewing, it means a lot to me! I'm still kind of not sure on whether I should do a beach one or not, so if I get a request for it I'll go ahead and if not I'll probably just leave it be with this.**

**Hope to see you on the next update! :) **


	12. Chapter 12

_**Never Have I Ever…considered parenthood**_

* * *

As the waterfall roars and birds tweet nearby happily, I sigh and relax against the grass. Here, in my special area, I can be completely at peace.

The farm is a great place to sleep, but even then I often end up having to deal with the villagers that are roaming around the place. I used to jokingly ask Rio if she thought about putting a 'no trespassing' sign on her land before just giving up on getting any alone time there altogether and moved my personal space back to the waterfall area.

Just as I settle back, ready to close my eyes, I'm jolted out of my peace when I hear the sound of footsteps nearby. Thinking that it's Rio, I sigh and quickly roll over in the hopes that I can pretend I'm asleep when suddenly I hear an unfamiliar laugh.

In a flash I sit up, sending grass flying as I glare at the intruder: it's Tina. With a growl, I ask, "What're you doing here?"

Rather than answering, Tina just flops down in the grass next to me and complains, "I TOLD Rio you would've liked it better if she came to find you herself, but she didn't listen…"

"Rio needs me for something?"

Tina just rolls her eyes before a serious look comes over her face. Hesitantly, the reporter fiddles with her thumbs before saying, "In a sense. Um…I was wondering…"

As she continues to hesitate, biting her lip, I grow wary. Tina is Rod's girlfriend…in fact, they've been together so long that I'm positive he's going to propose to her any day and Echo Village will have another wedding. Besides that, I've already got Rio.

It isn't as if I need or want anyone else.

Opening my mouth to deny what I believe is about to be a confession, I'm cut off when Tina rushes out, "I was wondering if Rio's okay."

"Huh?" I ask, caught off guard at the question. "Why would you want to know that? Don't you two hang out all the time?"

Tina nods, but looks at the ground with a worried expression on her face as she explains, "I honestly don't mean to pry, but I feel like lately something been kind of off about her. I knew that if I asked her she wouldn't say anything because she hates to worry people, but I was hoping you'd at least have a clue as to what it might be that's bothering her…"

Sitting up, I frown and mutter, "Last I checked there was nothing wrong with her…I mean, the last few mornings she's seemed a bit more tired than usual but I just think she's been working too hard. I tried convincing her to rest more but she won't listen. You know how she is."

At that, Tina smiles a bit and nods, saying, "Yeah, Rio's a go-getter. Actually…"

"Yeah?"

Tina coughs awkwardly before asking, "I was wondering if she might be pregnant."

I blink.

Then I blink again before managing to splutter out, "Wha-what? P…p…pregnant?!"

At my completely astonishment, Tina seems to feel even more awkward as she waves her hands around and mutters quickly, "I really don't mean to pry, I don't! It's just that lately she's seemed to be showing all the signs for it when we're hanging out together. They're subtle, but they're there. Is she…?"

"No!" I exclaim loudly, my face red before I cough and say in a more composed manner, "No. She's not. I mean, her being pregnant…"

To this day, even after being married for close to a year, Rio only recently built a bed for a kid. She claimed it was 'just in case' but all the same the two of us never talked about it.

True, it's not exactly something one can plan out and predict but all the same…

Tina seems to take my stunned silence as her cue to end the conversation. Briskly straightening up, she says, "Alright, well thanks for putting me at ease. I did actually come to get you for her though, since it seems like she was making lunch and wondered where you were."

My stomach rumbles, and I remember that it is time to eat before I sigh and get up. Looking down, I offer Tina a hand up which she takes, and as I pull her to her feet I tell her, "Thanks for looking out for my wife. She's a handful…if she still seems off to you after a few days let me know and I'll talk to her about going to Klaus for a check-up."

* * *

The next morning, I walk out of the bathroom with a towel around my neck and sigh, glancing at the window. After that awkward conversation with Tina, it seems as if I haven't been able to get the thought of having a kid out of my mind.

While I mull over the whole thing, I hear footsteps and turn to see Rio coming out of the bedroom. Glancing at clock, I frown as I realize it's half an hour later than she normally gets up. As she stands in the middle of the room and stretches with a yawn, I walk over to her and put a hand on top of her head.

Turning, she blinks up at me before murmuring, "Ah…good morning. I slept in a bit…"

"Mmm," I hum in reply, looking down into her face only to find to my surprise that she's even paler than normal.

I hadn't thought it was possible, but as she stares up at me with a confused look on her face I find myself wondering when she got to have such a sickly complexion.

Tina was right; something IS off about Rio. Brushing aside my guilt for not noticing sooner, I put a hand on her back as she blinks and starts to sway back and forth.

Worriedly, I ask, "Hey, are you okay? You seem more tired than normal…and paler…"

"Wha…?" Rio murmurs, rubbing at her eyes and shaking her head. "I'm fine…"

She tries to smile up at me only to collapse in my arms, fainting the instant the words leave her mouth. As she slumps in my arms, I hold onto her, trying to straighten her up as I say, "Rio!"

When she doesn't respond, I scoop her into my arms and tell her, "Hang in there…I'm going to get help."

Trying to remain calm, I burst through the doors and walk off the farm with her as fast as I can, checking every now and then to make sure she's still breathing. Her chest rises and falls lightly, and her head rests on my chest as I carry her towards the far side of town.

Halfway to the clinic, she seems to wake up. Her eyelids flutter, and gazing up at my face in a confused way she murmurs, "Ne…il? Where…?"

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I reassure her, "Don't worry. Just wait a bit longer, alright? We'll be at the clinic soon enough."

* * *

After a confusing fifteen minutes, I manage to tell Klaus what happened and I hover over his shoulder nervously as he gives Rio a shot of something. While she lies on one of the hospital beds, so still that I can't help but feel antsy, Klaus turns around and pushes his glasses up.

Giving me a look, the doctor says, "I understand that you are concerned, but please allow me to examine her. Wait out in the lobby room while I do so."

I'm not about to let him do anything to her; warily I move closer to the bed and hover in a protective stance before I feel a light tug on my sleeve. Glancing down, I see that Rio is holding onto my sleeve, smiling up at me weakly as she does so.

In an instant I forget about the doctor and turn around to face her, kneeling by the bedside before asking, "Hey…how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she tells me, still smiling before her eyes dart to Klaus. The sheets rustle as she sits up, but as I move to help her she says, "Thank you for bringing me here, Neil. Maybe I should let Klaus give me an exam."

Under normal circumstances I would protest, but when she gives me an encouraging nod, I sigh and stand up again. Turning on my heel, I march past Klaus and into the waiting room.

I only have to wait ten minutes; soon the two of them walk out to where I am, and Rio sits down in the stool across from Klaus' desk as I stand next to her. Putting a hand on her shoulder, I ask carefully, "What's wrong with Rio, Dr. Klaus? Is she sick?"

With a loud snort that seems to say 'idiots', Klaus just adjusts his glasses again before saying, "Sick? Don't be ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with your wife, or the baby."

Silently, Rio and I exchange surprised looks before the normally stern doctor smiles at us and exclaims, "Congratulations; she's pregnant. The two of you are going to be parents!"

As Rio smiles in wonder and carefully places a hand on her stomach, I feel my hands shaking as I murmur, "Wow….a kid? We're….we're having a kid?"

While I find myself still trying to digest this news, the doctors looks at Rio sternly and warns, "Do not be complacent-you must be very careful, especially in the early stages! Rest frequently and eat healthy. Do not strain yourself, Rio."

Turning to me, the doctor says, "Neil, you must care diligently for her."

Overwhelmed and unable to find words, I just nod blankly before Rio stands up and thanks Klaus profusely. Taking my hand, she says excitedly, "Let's go home for now, Neil." Hesitantly, I smile and nod before allowing her to pull me back towards home.

Back at the house, I sit Rio down before coughing, "Uh….ah…..Just tell me if you need anything. Or if you don't feel good! Don't hold back!"

Rio tilts her head at me before nodding and laughing, "I won't. Thank you, Neil."

"Ah…yeah."

She pauses for a minute, before asking, "Actually…could you do me a favor right now?"

Perking up, I ask, "Yeah?"

"Can you forage for me today? I still have to take care of the animals. Don't worry," she hurriedly assures me, "I'll be careful. I'll see you tonight…okay?"

* * *

I slump at Rod's table, facedown while Rod and Tina blink at me in surprise. They're quiet for all of two seconds before Tina screams, "OHMYGOSH, she's PREGNANT!? I KNEW IT!"

Quickly I stand up, hissing, "Shut it, do you want the whole town to know? I just found out this morning…I've been spending all afternoon foraging in the forest and I still haven't been able to process it…"

Tina claps a hand over her mouth while Rod whistles and says, "Wow Neil…you guys are gonna have a kid…I'm gonna be an uncle…"

"Who said I'd let you be an uncle?"

Waving off my grumpy attitude, Rod frowns and asks, "You don't seem very happy about this news. What's wrong with having a kid? It's already been a year, aren't you ready by now?"

Slowly I fall back into my chair before grumbling, "I am happy…I'm just more worried than anything, I guess."

Exchanging looks, Tina and Rod glance back at me before the reporter asks, "About what? Rio's a lot stronger than we all give her credit for, so I'm sure she can handle it…"

"Not about that! I'm worried for the kid!"

The two of them blink at me before I cross my arms and say quietly, "I don't want to mess up the kid's life. I'm easily irritated, I'm harsh, I don't even notice when something's wrong with my wife until she faints right in front of me…I'm already bad enough at being a husband sometimes. What kind of dad would I be to a kid?"

There's silence before Tina reaches over and gives me a slap across the face. As Rod jumps up and exclaims, "Tina!" I bring a hand to my face in stunned silence before glaring at the reporter and demanding, "What the hell was that for?"

"Man up!" Tina tells me, hands on her hips as she glares back at me. "Rio loves you just the way you are. She wouldn't have married you and stuck with you for so long if she didn't think it would work out, or if she thought you'd be a bad father to your kids someday. So have more confidence in yourself!"

As I blink at the reporter, Rod reaches out and touches my shoulder gently before looking over at Tina and murmuring, "I think what Tina is trying to say is that you shouldn't worry so much about all those things. Nobody is perfect, but what matters in the end is that you try your best for that other person. Besides that, I've seen how you play with the kids that already live in town; you'll be a great dad."

* * *

When I walk into the house late that night, my cheek still smarts from the slap that Tina gave me. As I rub my cheek and silently grumble to myself, I notice that all the lights are off despite it only being eight. Normally, Rio would still be awake and cooking dinner, but considering everything that's happened today I'm not totally surprised that she's already asleep.

Walking towards the table, I find to my surprise that there's a note on the table pinned to a plate of what appears to be shrimp chili. Ignoring the food (which appears to still be warm), I take the note off of the plastic wrap and move towards the nearest light.

Flicking it on, I read, "Neil, I made dinner early since I got really tired. I wish we could've eaten it together and talked more about what happened today but I could barely keep my eyes open as I was writing this note! Anyways…I want you to know that I'm really happy about everything and that I'm glad I married you-you'll be a great dad. I can only hope I'll be just as good at being a mom! Goodnight…I love you!"

A smile flickers across my face before I turn the light off and walk back towards the table, dropping the note on the plate as I pass it and head towards the bedroom. As I lean against the doorframe and stare at our bed, I see Rio sleeping soundly as she lays sprawled across most of the mattress.

Quietly, so as to not wake her, I walk over to the bedside before sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at her. As she breathes lightly in her sleep, I gently brush away a few strands of hair from her face.

I wasn't expecting to be a parent just yet, but when I look at my wife like this I can't help but feel a surge of happiness. My hand travels down to her stomach, where it rests lightly on her skin as I think of the fact that this is my home, my wife, and that soon I'll have my own kid.

Leaning down, I lightly kiss her cheek and murmur, "I'll have to work even harder now for you, but it'll be worth it; I'm so happy. I love you too, Rio."

* * *

**I actually wanted to do this a little earlier but still hadn't gotten it down right, so here it is now! :D To be honest, I do feel like in the game it's kind of sudden how your character gets pregnant...and on top of that, it's also strange to me that Neil says, "I'm so happy" during the cut scene but when you talk to him after he just says, "I still haven't gotten used to the idea" and he looks all ticked off XD**

**So I kinda combined all that when I wrote this :) Y'know, to be a bit different if nothing else XD**

**Either way, I hope you enjoyed it! While I won't be putting up another chapter on this story for a couple of days or so, I've decided that tomorrow I'm going to put up a Lillian and Phillip story! **

**It's been awhile since I wrote my first fanfic (which was for ToTT) and so I want to return to my roots and write for that game again :) So keep a lookout for when I put it up tomorrow! :D**

**As always, thanks for the reads and reviews here and I hope to see you all on the next update! :) **


	13. Chapter 13

_**Never Have I Ever…lost a snowball fight**_

* * *

As I glare out the window at the snow, I sneeze loudly and bring a hand up to my nose.

It's snowing as usual, the cold white snowflakes falling to the ground and piling up more than ever as I watch the gray clouds in the sky. While I watch, I feel Rio's arms slip around my waist, and looking back a bit I watch her lean against me before she murmurs sleepily, "It's still snowing, huh?"

Turning back to the window, I sigh and lean my head to the right just enough that my head is resting on hers.

"Snow…no wonder it's so damn cold."

"Stop complaining!" Rio murmurs, before turning her face to give me a quick kiss on the neck. I blush a bit at her as she lets go and says, "We'll have fun with the snow after I finish my chores, okay?"

As she heads towards the bathroom to start getting ready for the day, I glance outside once more before sighing and turning on my heel after her.

* * *

"This? **This **is your idea of fun?"

Rod pouts at me playfully, pretending to be hurt as he complains, "That's not very nice to say, Neil! I'd like to think I'm plenty of fun!"

Tina giggles at that, her arm looped in Rio's as the two girls watch us. As Rod practically pounces on me, sending us flying into a nearby pile of snow, Allen shakes his head and Michelle giggles before I finally struggle back to my feet.

While I get up, brushing snow from my shoulders, Iroha orders calmly, "Let's all decide the teams then."

Moving forward, I pull Rod to his feet and the two of us join the rest of the young adults as we all gather around the tough blacksmith. Iroha pulls a coin out of her pocket, before looking around and asking, "Who will be the captains then?"

For a minute we all murmur quietly, before Allen volunteers himself with a grand wave of his hand. Stepping forward, the stylist declares, "I'll be a captain. Who will be the other one?"

There's more murmuring before it's decided that Rod will be the other captain. The two old friends exchange grins before Iroha asks, "Alright, Rod, heads or tails?"

"Tails!"

Everyone falls silent as the coin is tossed in the air, and when it lands heads down Rod does a little victory dance before he and Allen step away from the group and stand on opposite sides. As they get into position to choose teams, I quickly make my way to Rio's side.

Putting an arm around her waist, I glare at both Allen and Rod as if daring them to choose us separately. Both seem to get the picture before they shake their heads and look back at the rest of the group.

* * *

Rio, Rod, Tina, Amir, and Sanjay all stand next to me while the others all stand next to Allen on the other side of the bank near the river. As we all turn and begin building snow forts, I lean over and whisper to Rod, "Who convinced Soseki to join us?"

Glancing back over his shoulder at where the journalist-reporter-whatever-he-is seems to be enjoying himself, Rod shrugs before admitting quietly, "I think he came when Rio asked if he'd play with all of us. She said something about him needing to act his own age…"

I can't help but smile at that; it sounds like something Rio would say, especially to Soseki as he almost never wants to hang out with anyone in our age group despite the fact that he's most likely only a year older than us at most.

He never really was clear on his age…

My musings are interrupted when Tina whoops and thrusts a fist of victory into the air, proclaiming, "The fort is all done and ready to go!"

To my surprise, while Rod and I were chatting the snow fort for our team has already been built in entirety; Rio smirks proudly while the others on our team all pat her on the back and move to start making piles of snowballs.

After we've made a substantial amount of ammo, we hear Allen's voice call, "Are you guys ready to start?"

Peeking out from behind the fort, everyone watches as Rod and Allen both walk solemnly to the middle of the battlefield, the atmosphere tense as we all wait for the signal to start chucking snow at each other.

When the two meet, everyone holds their breath as they shake hands and stare at each other for a few minutes. After a minute or so, they let go and hesitate until Rio calls out, "Let's go already!"

With that one single phrase, everyone begins to throw snow, regardless of the fact that our captains are still in the middle of the battle zone. With yelps of surprise, Rod and Allen turn and quickly run back to their respective teams, Rod calling, "Come on guys, let's win!"

As he leaps over the wall of our snow fort and joins us in throwing snowballs, he and I exchange grins before I lean out to survey the situation.

For awhile it looks as if we are all equal in this fight; for every inch they knock off of our fort we knock two from theirs only to be cut down again. I'm throwing snow as hard as I can, actually enjoying myself as I watch it hit Allen on the chest and causes him to step back with a yelp.

As this starts to feel like a real battle, our wall crumbles and Rod leaps to the top of it, pointing at Allen's team as he screams, "CHAAAAAARGE!"

Tumbling over the snow wall, we all rush forward, even the normally gentle Sanjay caught up in the excitement as he laughs and tosses snow at the enemy team. In retaliation, Allen rushes over his own fort with the other behind him, and soon enough it becomes an all-out brawl in the snow.

As agreed before the fight, we all throw snow as hard as we can without holding back; the girls all told us it would be a lot more insulting to them if we held back. Accordingly so, when I hit Michelle in the arm I can't help but grin a little; she yelps and trips, landing face down in the snow.

I can't entirely say that I wasn't aiming for her on purpose-more than once the magician has made it clear that she thinks all the guys in this town are stupid and just need to be manipulated.

With Michelle out of action, I look over to see how our team is doing when I see Sanjay and Amir tangling with Felicity and Iroha; surprisingly, it's the prince that seems to be having conflict throwing something at a girl while Sanjay is reveling in what appears to be battle spirit.

Just when I think our team is going to win, I hear a shrill cry. Recognizing Rio's voice, I whip my head around to see Allen holding onto her-with one arm looped around her shoulders, he holds a snowball up to the back of her neck. Seeking out my gaze, Allen calls out, "You'd better surrender if you want her to survive this fight, Rod!"

Rod looks over at me, where I stand frozen before he cries, "NEVER! I'll never give up!" Looking back at me, he apologizes, "Sorry, Neil, but sometimes in war there must be sacrifices!"

With that, Allen shrugs and pushes a huge lump of snow down the back of Rio's shirt. My wife squeals in shock at the cold and begins to wriggle around in the stylist's grasp before she catches my eye and yelps, "Neil! HELP ME!"

Ignoring everyone else as they continue fighting, I push through the crossfire and fight my way to Rio's side, even pushing my own teammates aside as I strive to reach my wife.

By the time I get to her, she's thrown her coat off and is shivering as she tries to warm herself and laments over her now-wet coat. Still ignoring the fight, I practically rip my own coat off and drape it over Rio before turning back and narrowing my gaze on Rod.

With a yell, I charge into the fray and grab some snow. Rod doesn't even see me coming, and he screams in surprise as I literally jump on him and push some snow into his face.

"Gwwahhh!" Rod gurgles as snow goes down his throat and I yell, "If Rio gets sick because you didn't save her I'm going to make you pay all of the medical bills!"

"TRAITOR!" Rod manages to yell back, but we're both half smiling as the battle around us comes to a stop and everyone begins to laugh.

As they all gather around where Rod and I are still on the ground, Felicity and Tina throw their arms around Rio and tease her, "You're really loved by your husband, aren't you?" Shaking the snow out of my hair, I watch my wife blushing as she protests and tries to shake her friends off before a hand is thrust at me and I look up to see Allen giving me his customary smirk.

"I knew if I baited you with Rio you'd throw the fight," Allen crows as he pulls first me, then Rod to our feet. "Let's all go to Clement's and get some drinks to warm ourselves up, okay?"

The whole group begins to walk towards town, all of us laughing and talking as we leave the forgotten snowball fight behind us. Looking around, I duck out from under Allen's and Rod's arms and allow myself to linger at the back of the crowd where Rio is clutching my coat around her slim frame and still blushing.

When she looks up at me, she mutters, "I can't believe we lost the fight because you did that to Rod…"

"Hey," I tell her seriously, "No fight is worth sacrificing my wife, especially now that you're pregnant. I told you I'd do whatever I could to take care of you, didn't I?" That earns me a smile, and as Rio slips her hand into mine I sigh.

Losing the snowball fight was definitely worth it.

* * *

**Hey guys! It's been a bit, but here's an update for you :) **

**While most pregnant ladies don't usually engage in snowball fights, Rio seems like the type who just does whatever she wants whether it's healthy for her or not. I mean, look at her. She runs a whole farm by herself while she's pregnant and can still do things like heavy lifting and building houses despite the fact that you're not supposed to strain yourself during pregnancy XD**

**That being said, Neil still probably wouldn't be happy if she got sick...it IS Neil's nature to be protective of her whether she's stronger than him or not :P**

**Anyways, thanks so much for the reads and reviews! I'll try and update while I'm in school (I start next week lol) but no promises on how much I'll get done. **

**I hope to see you all on the next update :) Until then, have a nice day and thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

_**Never Have I Ever…shared a kitchen**_

_***disclamer*-may contain implications of Neil thinking un-innocent thoughts.**_

* * *

As Rio sniffles and rolls over in bed, I sit on the edge of the bed and watch her worriedly.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask.

She open her mouth to answer but she just sneezes and groans a bit, curling into a ball and pulling the covers over herself with a miserable look on her face. Without waiting for her to answer, I put a hand on her forehead to see if I can gauge her temperature.

Her skin burns under my hand, and I pull back quickly and say, "Rio, you're really sick! What happened? You were fine yesterday!"

From under the covers, she peeks out at me before admitting, "I went outside while my hair was still wet…I'm just a little feverish, that's all."

For some reason, I doubt that was all she did; narrowing my eyes, I wait until she sighs and continues, "Okay…so maybe Tina and I were walking by the river yesterday and I tripped and that's why my hair was wet…"

"Uh-huh. Next time just tell me that from the start, alright?"

Turning, I shrug my coat on and move towards the door when I feel her grab the back of my coat. Struggling to prop herself up, she coughs again before asking, "Where are you going?"

Moving back towards her, I push her shoulder gently until she lowers her body back onto the bed and lies still under my touch. As patiently as I can, I wait until she stops protesting before I tell her, "I'm going to get help so you can get better. You're pregnant, it is NOT the time to be getting sick."

Her nose crinkles as she frowns before she orders sternly, "Not Klaus, he'll be mad and tell me I have to take care of myself! It's just a cold! Who knew that the river would be so chilly anyways…it's already spring…"

Giving her a look, I reply scathingly, "Of course not Klaus. I don't like talking to him, you know that. No, I was going to get one of the girls…I was thinking Felicity, she's good at cooking. She can make you soup and take care of you since you don't seem to be in too bad of a condition."

When Rio hears that, she seems to wilt and I lower my eyebrows in confusion before sitting on the edge of the bed again. Raising a hand to brush a few strands of blond hair from her sticky forehead, I say softly, "Hey, what's with that look? You love Felicity's cooking!"

Rolling over so that her back is to me, she crosses her arms and pouts quietly, "Yeah, but….I…I want_ you_ to take care of me."

As the words process in my brain, I stare at her in silence before she peeks over her shoulder to look at me, her blue eyes expectant as she waits for me to say something. For some reason, the way she's looking at me has me wanting to blush and quickly I look away before standing up and muttering, "Alright, alright, I'll stay and take care of you. What do you want me to do?"

* * *

For some reason, I don't ever remember a kitchen being this complicated. While I reach over to a nearby drawer to see where all the utensils and bowls are kept, I mumble under my breath to myself; Rio's been spoiling me by cooking every day since we got married, and as a result it's been awhile since I've stepped into the kitchen.

To add to my confusion, Rio seems to have added new things-the fridge is much bigger than before, and her recipe book is heavy enough that I worry about dropping it on my foot and breaking my bones. Rifling through the pages of the book, I finally find the recipe I'm looking for and begin to gather the ingredients and utensils I need.

As I start to cut the vegetables for the soup, I almost cut my own finger off when I hear Rio say, "Need some help?"

Turning my head, I see her standing in the entry way of the kitchen, the blanket wrapped around her like a protective cloak as it completely covers her and trails across the floor. I lower the knife in my hand and ask, "What are you doing? You're supposed to be resting!"

She pouts at my scolding, biting her lip and shuffling her feet before mumbling, "Want to help."

When I see that expression on her face, for a second my chest seems to freeze up and I find it hard to breathe. Since marrying Rio, I've had more heart issues than I can count on one hand in the past year.

Quickly I turn around and stare at the food I'm cutting up, saying curtly, "You can't help. You're sick. Go back to bed."

Much to my surprise, her arms slide around my middle and she leans into my back, snuggling her face into it as she murmurs, "Want to help. I'm not THAT sick."

"J-just go back to bed."

"No!"

"RIO!" I say, flustered and exasperated at this point. "PLEASE. I'm begging you."

Of course, she doesn't listen to my request or the pleading sound in my voice; she practically drapes herself across my back, pressing her body to mine as she tugs on my sleeve and whines, "Neil, lemme help!"

I make the mistake of looking down into her face-her cheeks are flushed pink from her fever, but the blue of her eyes is as clear as ever, and her lips form a small perfect 'o' as she stares up at me with a pleading look on her face.

Quickly, my eyes dart down to see that the blanket has slipped from her shoulders, leaving her neck and shoulders exposed. Following a single strand of hair, my line of vision falls to her pajama shirt, where the top two buttons remain open to expose just enough skin that any desire I had is immediately amplified.

Before I even realize what's going on, I hear myself saying, "If you really want to stay, I guess you can."

"Really?" Blond hair spills across my arm as she tilts her head to smiles up at me. "I can stay?"

Slowly I take a deep breath and nod, stiffening when she squeals in happiness and stands on her toes to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. When she lets go and heads for the fridge to grab some food, I release the breath I was holding and stare intensely at the vegetables, as if it will help me get used to the idea that I'm sharing the kitchen with my wife for the first time since we've been married.

For as long as we've been together, it's strange to think that not once before this were we ever in the kitchen at the same time.

Cooking becomes increasingly difficult to focus on when her hips continuously bump into mine as she shuffles around the kitchen, and when she passes me the small area of the kitchen practically forces us onto each other.

Her body is overly heated and flushed as she's sick, but at this point I'm sure my own face and body could match hers in temperature.

As I turn and put the pot on the stove, she smiles weakly at me and shifts to give me some more space, the shirt falling a bit more to expose her right shoulder as she does so.

Goddess alive, if this counter was cleaner and she wasn't sick…

I must be staring at her hungrily, because she looks at me curiously and says, "The food will be done soon, Neil. You don't have to wait that long…"

A blush floods my face at having been caught, and quickly I avert my gaze to the soup, reminding myself that she's _sick _and that I'm supposed to be helping her get better.

Oblivious to my thoughts and desires, Rio gloms onto my arm and hugs it happily, saying, "I like cooking with you. We should share the kitchen more often!"

I resist the urge to smirk as I lift one hand and trace a finger from her jaw up to her cheek.

I never knew sharing a kitchen would be this hard.

* * *

**Lol so it's been awhile. But I'm only on the second week and I already have test so writing has been put aside until just now XD **

**Rio-you're not helping XD Just stop, before you make Neil's head explode. **

**Anyways I hope this was enjoyable :) The next one is going to be a prelude to the birth event, so stay tuned! I have that one written out so I may actually post it within this next few days, if not by the end of next week :) Until then, thanks for all the reads and reviews, and hope to see you next time too! :) **


	15. Chapter 15

_**Never Have I Ever…worried about names**_

* * *

I'm sitting on the couch with my feet propped up when Rio walks in through the door. As she takes her shoes off and sets down some stuff on the table, I call over my shoulder, "Welcome home, Rio. Did you get everything you needed in town today?"

"What?"

"I said," I repeat, "Did you get what you were looking for?"

I turn my head to watch as Rio walks over to where I am, giving her a smile as I move my arm so she can sit next to me on the couch. As she plops down in the seat, I put an arm around her shoulders and give her a quick kiss on the cheek before saying, "So? Did you?"

"Stop bothering me," she laughs, before elbowing me lightly and settling into the couch more comfortably. Leaning against me, she murmurs, "Yes, I got what I was looking for. I'm really glad Soseki had this book otherwise I would have had to make a trip to Mineral Town…"

"Book?"

In answer to my question, Rio reaches into the backpack she still wears and produces a heavy, leather-bound book that looks as if it hasn't been touched in ages. Handing it to me, she gives me an expectant smile that I half-heartedly return before glancing down at the cover to see what the title is.

The words "Naming your Baby" are spread across the cover, emblazoned in a dazzling gold that only somehow seems to make the book even worse. As I stare at it, hoping Rio isn't about to do what I think she is, I hear her cough from beside me.

When I look over, she gives me another expectant look before I sigh and say, "Okay, hold on. Why are you giving this to ME? And why did Soseki even have this book in the first place?"

"Soseki has a lot of books lying around his house from his reporting days," Rio waves off the question, "and I figured that a book like this would really be useful to us. Neil…It's already been a few seasons. You know what Klaus said at my check-up yesterday."

Inwardly, I shudder a bit at the memory of our latest visit to the clinic.

* * *

"_It will be due on the first week of summer," the doctor said, adjusting his glasses and giving us a scrutinizing look. "Take care of yourself until then."_

"_The first week of summer?" I choked out. "But that's…that's only in two weeks!"_

"_I expect you to take care of yourself very carefully before then, Rio," Klaus continued, ignoring me as he talked to my wife. "Take extra care not to strain yourself. Go to sleep earlier, and take some supplemental pills if you must."_

* * *

As I stare blankly at the wall, Rio jostles me again and I look over at her. Biting her lip, she fidgets with her hands before murmuring, "Are you that nervous about it? Aren't you excited, even a little?"

Instantly I feel awful, and dropping the book on my lap my arm goes around Rio as I hurriedly reassure her, "No, no, I'm excited too! It's just a lot to take in…that's all."

"You've been saying that since we found out I was pregnant," Rio points out, but ignoring that I hug her tightly before saying, "I'm ready to take care of you and this kid. Don't worry about me."

My words seem to cheer her up, and a smile comes over her face again before she points back to the book on my lap. In a happy voice, she says, "I got this book thinking that it'd be good to think of names ahead of time…"

"You want ME to help? Rio you of all people know that I'm really not that good at this kind of thing."

My will crumbles as Rio looks at me, a begging look in her eyes as she says, "I thought we could do it together…don't you want to?"

Avoiding her gaze, I grumble and mutter under my breath before dropping my arm from her shoulders and picking the book back up. Flipping open the cover and thumbing through the pages, I ask, "Girl names or boy names?"

"Well, what would you like?"

Instantly my thoughts go to that of a little girl; in my mind's eye I see her blond pigtails and blue eyes. I'm sure she'll look exactly like Rio-down to the smile that manages to make my heart beat fast even to this day. Clearing my throat, I mumble, "A girl would be nice…"

Rio must know what I'm thinking because she smiles at me gently before reaching over and flipping towards the back of the book.

"Let's try girl names first then," she encourages me, and together we bend our heads over the book and begin to read.

* * *

"What about the name….Adeline?"

Rio watches me with hopeful eyes as I lean back and think about it. With my eyes closed I try to picture an Adeline-somehow it doesn't click. Opening my eyes, I shake my head before saying, "Not cute enough. Let's try another one."

Looking down at the book again, Rio asks, "Okay….what about…Quinn? It says here that this was a popular name a few years back…"

The name doesn't even faze me, and quickly I shake my head before saying, "No. Definitely no-it's not speaking to me. Try another one."

Rather than looking back at the pages, Rio scowls at me before complaining, "You've rejected every name we've gone over for the past hour! What exactly are you looking for?"

As she glares at me, I shrug and mutter, "I don't know…something that rings. Something that when people hear it, they'll just KNOW she's cute."

At my answer, Rio laughs before saying, "There's no name like that!"

I blush a bit as I argue quietly, "Your name is like that…Rio."

Rio blushes too before a blush spreads over her face and she smiles back down at the book.

Quietly, she mutters, "Honestly, you're too much...tell me seriously what you're looking for in a name."

I bite my lip, a little reluctant to tell her what's on my mind. Somehow, it seems almost childish of me to have these thoughts, but when Rio gives me a look I know that there's no chance I can hide anything from her. Ducking my head a bit, I say softly, "I want a good strong name, for either a boy or a girl. It has to be a name that I'd love to hear and love to say…because I'll love them…very much…"

I turn crimson as Rio grins at me a bit before mumbling, "Shut up."

Ignoring me, she flips a few pages idly before suggesting, "Maybe we should look for boy names again for a bit. If we have time later we'll go back to the girl side."

I don't say anything as she heads to the front of the book and begins to look at names. From the start I knew this would be a bad idea; no name speaks to me at all. Whether it's for a boy or a girl, all Rio and I have done since start reading has been argue about what names we like and which names we don't like.

At this point, we can't seem to agree on anything.

As she runs her finger down the pages, I lean back and prepare to make myself comfortable to just reject it again when she stops on one name and blinks at it.

Leaning in, she smiles before saying, "Neil, what about this one?"

As I straighten up to look, I wonder why she's smiling when my eyes fall upon the name her finger points to. Instantly, I'm hooked and a smile comes across my face too.

"Really? That name?" I ask, looking over at her. "It's…nice. I like it."

Our eyes meet and she gives me the same look she did on our wedding day, sending my heart into overdrive as she does so. Smiling happily, she seems to glow as she says, "You too? I thought you might. It just…jumped out to me."

"Me too."

As our hands reach across the pages and our fingers intertwine, we look back down at the name together. In a strange way, the appearance of this name is the first agreement we've had since we started, and the idea that we both agree on a name seems to make the idea of a kid real.

"Elijah…it's a sweet name." Rio murmurs, before bringing my hand up to press her lips to it gently.

The two of us smile at each other before looking back down at the book.

"Should we continue?" Rio wonders aloud, and smiling I shake my head before picking up the book and saying, "Well we never did find one for a girl…"

* * *

**Choosing names for a child has GOT to be a struggle. I mean, there are so many good names out there but you want one that really speaks to you, you know? **

**Also, in answer to what Neil was thinking in that last chapter: he wants to cook with her and kiss her while she's not sick! What dirty thoughts were you thinking, lol :P No but for reals, nothing really dirty I promise! I don't roll that way XD Even if I implied it it's up to others how they interpret it!**

**Anyways thanks all for the reads and reviews and the next one is the pregnancy event, so look out for it! :D until next time!**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Never Have I Ever…understood a father's love**_

* * *

As I shift on my side of the bed, I mumble and try to get back to sleep. With how hot it is, I can't help but want to kick off the covers; if Rio wasn't so insistent on using them I probably would have already. It's been all of three days into summer, and we're still parents to be.

Rolling over again, I mumble incoherently into my covers and repeat my daily prayer that I'll be a good father.

_Please let me be a good father._

_Please let me be a good father._

_Please…_

Halfway through the third part of my mantra, I hear a loud crash from the bathroom. Instantly wary, I sit up and stare at the doorway before calling cautiously, "Rio?"

When she doesn't answer, I swing my feet over the side of the bed and creep towards the bathroom hoping that she's just tripped over something in the dark. As I shuffle towards the door, I say softly, "Rio, are you okay?"

There's no reply for a second, before Rio whimpers from behind the door. Without a second thought I reach for the knob and crash through the door, practically ripping it off its hinges in my effort to get to my wife.

The bathroom lights illuminate a scene that freezes me in my steps; Rio leans against the counter, breathing heavily with a look of pain on her face as the water on the floor reflects where the light shines on it.

Still frozen, I watch as Rio grabs my wrist and gasps out, "My water broke…"

As I stare at her blankly, she whimpers again and I seem to snap out of my daze. Trying not to panic, I throw an arm around her and support her as we head for the door.

She stumbles a bit and I catch her, before realizing there's no way I can carry her; my legs threaten to crumble underneath me as I do my best to suppress the immense feeling of worry and anxiousness that boil in my stomach.

As if she can sense how I'm feeling, Rio gives me a weak smile before reassuring me, "I'll be okay, Neil. Just help me get to the clinic, okay?"

Patting my head, she smiles even wider before another wince contorts her face. Strengthening my resolve, I put in all the strength I can and help her towards the clinic as fast as I can.

* * *

A very annoyed Klaus opens the door after I pound on it frantically. I can tell that he's all set to give me the lecture of my life when his eyes flicker to Rio at my side. Realization seems to dawn in his eyes, and quickly he's all business as he pulls open the door and steps to the side.

As I pull her into the room with the hospital beds, she grabs my sleeve and allows me to lower her gently onto the mattress as she begins to really breathe hard. While she lies there, obviously in pain, I shift back and forth on my feet with nervous anticipation.

At this point, not only do I not know what to do to but I don't know how to act.

Klaus seems to sense this, and he turns from where he's preparing to touch my shoulder gently. Quietly, the doctor says, "It will be fine, Neil. Please go to the waiting room."

My eyes shift to Rio, and her blue eyes meet mine before she gives me one last smile. Nodding, she urges in a weary voice, "Go on, Neil. I'll be okay."

Anxiously I shift from foot to foot; I'm loathe to leave her, especially now, but all the same I get the feeling that if I stay I'll only be in the way. Slowly I step back towards the door, then move back again, and take one last step before I'm out the door and into the lobby.

As soon as I've moved, Klaus shoos me towards the waiting area and gives me one last nod before heading back into the room where I can hear Rio still gasping and struggling for breath.

Worry fills my stomach and I begin to pace back and forth as I begin to imagine all sorts of things-gone-wrong that could happen.

What if there's something wrong with the kid?

What if Rio has to have a C-section?

And then the worst yet comes to my mind: what if I lose them both, in that one swift moment where both mother and child could die?

Dread seems to come over me instantly, fear freezing me where I stand as I begin to feverishly pray that my worries will be completely unfounded. A deep, ringing pain seems to slash through my chest and I find it nearly unbearable to breathe as I try and steady myself on the nearby wall.

I can't imagine living after losing so much.

As I lean against the wall and try to focus on breathing, there's a loud crash from the direction of the door and I look up to see Rod, Tina, Allen, and the others all pour into the waiting room. While I stand there, wondering what they're doing up so late and night and why they're here, Tina asks breathlessly, "Where is she?"

"Huh?"

"RIO?" Tina says impatiently, before I shake my head and demand, "She's with Klaus. What are you guys all doing here? It's three in the morning!"

Soseki, pulling at his robe anxiously, steps forward before saying, "I was up, walking around town like I always do when I happened to see you hurrying towards the clinic with Rio. Naturally I did my best to tell everyone else that something important was happening."

"The baby's coming! I bet it'll be so cute!" Michelle gushes while Felicity begins muttering about cooking for Rio under her breath. As the talking becomes a low murmur that echoes in the waiting room, I stand limply in the middle of everyone until Rod and Allen pull me out of the crowd and to the side.

"You okay? You look kind of pale," Rod frets, before frowning at me.

Staring at both of them, I quietly murmur, "It's just…Well I hope everything's going okay. I can't do anything…and if I lose her…"

Rod bites his lip, but Allen shakes his head before giving me his usual smirk. Leaning forward and shaking his finger at me, the stylist scolds, "Honestly Neil, Rio is much stronger than you're giving her credit for. Just sit out here and be patient, okay? Both she and the baby will be fine."

I open my mouth to say something in return when Klaus pokes his head out into the lobby and hisses, "Could you all leave please? I need to focus before Rio begins to go into labor!"

Reluctantly the whole group gives me a look, before slowly trudging out the door one by one. The last one to leave is Rod, who gives me an encouraging smile before being pulled out the door by Tina. As the lobby settles into quiet once more, I take a deep breath before sinking down into a nearby chair and putting my head in my hands.

* * *

I wake up to hear Klaus saying, "Push! Come on Rio, just a bit more!"

Quickly I stand up, nearly knocking over the chair in the process and I stand still and stare hard in the direction of the hospital room. Hesitantly I take a few steps towards the hospital room when I hear Klaus say in a happy voice, "The baby is here! You did it, Rio."

Heedless of my surroundings or what Klaus will say, I run to the hospital room, tripping and stumbling over myself in my haste to get to Rio and the baby. As Rio comes into sight, she gives me a weak smile before looking at Klaus, who turns to me with the baby in his arms.

Holding out the child, the doctor says, "Congratulations. It's a boy."

Carefully I step forward before looking at Rio. Sensing my nervousness, she struggles to sit up before nodding and saying hoarsely, "Hold him, Neil. Hold your son."

Holding out my arms, I slowly take my son out of Klaus's arms. The warmth of the bundle in my arms sends a weird feeling of satisfaction and happiness bubbling through my stomach, and looking down I watch as the baby kicks his little feet.

As I hold my son, I marvel at how I never once thought I'd ever understand why a parent loves their child so much. Even though he's only newly born, the feeling of love seems to overwhelm me, and it takes all my willpower to not blush at how ridiculous I feel, standing here with a big smile on my face.

I look up to see Rio watching me with an affectionate look in her eyes. Walking over to where she sits in the bed, I say, "Here, take him."

Obligingly, she takes the baby from my arms and smiles down at him, somehow managing to look as breathtaking as always despite the sheen of sweat on her forehead and the limp strands of hair that cling to her neck.

"Hey there," she whispers to the baby, reaching out to stroke his cheek softly. Smiling, I lean over the bed and kiss her on the cheek, before pulling back and whispering in her ear, "You did a good job. Thank you, Rio."

I'm surprised when she turns her head to give me a kiss on the cheek, and as I blink at her she tells me, "You did good too, Neil. Thank you for being so patient."

Together we look down at the baby before Klaus clears his throat and says, "I hate to bother you but as I'll need to fill out the birth certificate…"

Rio and I nod at each other before I turn to Klaus and say, "We'd like to name him Elijah. Elijah James."

Klaus leaves the room to fill out the birth certificate, leaving me alone with Rio and Elijah. As soon as he's gone, I sink to one knee next to the bedside and grab Rio's right hand. Looking at me curiously, she turns her attention from our son before asking me with a little laugh, "Neil, what are you doing?"

Dead serious, I squeeze her hand and tell her, "Thank you, for giving birth to my child. I swear, I'll do whatever I have to and work harder than ever for both you and Elijah."

She blushes at this before asking, "What brought this on?"

Standing up again, I push a loose strand of hair behind her ear before telling her, "I love you. And I love him. Do I really need another reason?"

At that she falls silent before looking back down at Elijah. Cradling him a bit more, she murmurs, "You're a very lucky boy, Elijah, to have a daddy like Neil."

Sitting on the bed, I put on hand on my son and put my other hand over Rio's before closing my eyes and smiling, somehow unable to find words to express the surge of contentment in my life. Leaning forward to rest my forehead against Rio's, I make a silent vow to never forget just how perfect everything seems right now.

* * *

**There it is :) I know it takes like five seconds in the game but I figured that wouldn't make for an interesting story so I gave her a couple of hours XD Either way, I hope it was a nice story :) **

**It's been awhile since I've posted, but I wanted to give you guys a heads up: this is NOT the last story. I will have at least two more, although I don't know when they'll be up. I might even have three more XD I'll just see how it plays out. Until then, thanks for all the reads and reviews! See you on the next update!**


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